The celebration of International Women’s Day is a forward-thinking, progressive recognition of the power and value of women in all spheres of society–domestic and public. This year, the theme is asking women and men to “Choose to Challenge” gender bias and stereotypes whenever and wherever they are encountered.

Springing from the feminists (also called suffragettes–who sought voting rights, better pay, and shorter working hours–sound familiar?) of the United States, who organized a National Women’s Day in 1908, the first International Women’s Day was celebrated in 1911, the same month that the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire killed 140 women working in sub-standard and unsafe conditions. That legacy resonates with me. I work with textiles almost every day, and when I do I think am grateful that I do this out of choice. When I (rarely) buy new clothes, I try to understand the conditions under which they are made, to choose to support collectives like Novica and A Cultural Cloth that help artists (mostly women) who then build up their homes and home communities.

Now both a grassroots celebration in dozens of countries and a celebration under the aegis of the United Nations, International Women’s Day is, each March 8, an occasion for honoring the collective accomplishments of generations of women and a reminder that our vigilance, valor, and voices are needed to prevent erosion of modern gains and to extend protections at home and abroad, thinking and acting locally and globally.

Until I was in my late twenties, I was unaware of this annual celebration. Then, in early March of 1987, Tim and I took a trip to Italy. We drove to Florence from Nice on March 8, a cool and sunny Saturday. After checking into our hotel, the Helvetia & Bristol in the heart of the city, we set out on foot to explore. It was a memorable day soaking up history, arts, monuments, and vistas, tasting the incomparable Tuscan cuisine, and hearing Italian phrases and even songs float on the early spring air all around us. One highlight was, at first, a complete mystery. Men handed me small sprigs of mimosa. Everywhere we looked, women had were carrying these bright yellow blossoms or wearing them pinned on their lapels.

Why?

As a visible, tangible, and fragrant way to mark International Women’s Day. On March 8, 1987, it was those small gifts of ephemeral flowers that caught our attention. Not long after, however, Tim and I began to learn about the importance of women’s education, of how it catalyzes progress in communities, as well as in individual lives. Since then, we have been grateful to be able to support the education of two young girls (now women) whom we never met directly, one in Ethiopia, one in Tanzania, one through an organization headquartered in Minnesota, Operation Bookstrap Africa, and the other through the auspices of the Christian Children’s Fund. I know that you, too, have made these kinds of life-changing gifts, and I think today is a fitting day to be glad for the ways we have been able to help other people through our lives and our gifts.

Some years back, a friend gifted me with these fabulous socks.

Fittingly, the last time I visited with my twenty-something daughter, whose passions for healing the planet and addressing food insecurity inspire Tim and me every day, she was the one wearing the socks.

Today, I renew my commitment to honor and support the contributions of other women and men in my own life, and especially to stand by my strong-minded, open-hearted daughter in all the choices she makes in work and life.

Thank you for reading this! LESLIE