The Woman Who Held Up My Sky

March 8 is a day that carries two layers of meaning for me, and I wanted to share both with you today.

The world knows it as International Women's Day. A global celebration of women's achievements, contributions, and resilience across every field, every culture, every generation.

But in my family, March 8 is also my mother's heavenly birthday.

"She didn't hold a title. She held a family — and that was everything."

My mother raised 7 children. She wasn’t perfect, and she did the best she could with the resources she had. She poured herself into each of us, then watched us become parents ourselves, filling her arms with grandchildren and great-grandchildren who adored her. She lived a full life, a good life, a life that quietly shaped every person who came through her door.

She was not a chiropractor, CEO, or public figure. But she understood something about legacy that most leadership books never quite capture: how you love people, consistently, generously, without keeping score, is the most powerful thing you will ever do.

I think about that on International Women's Day. Because behind every woman who has built something remarkable, there is almost always someone who believed in her first. A mother. A grandmother. A mentor. A friend who told her the truth when it mattered. Someone who stretched her and challenged her.

The Women (and People) Who Shape

This day isn't just for women in chiropractic. It belongs to the woman who raised you. The one who stayed. The one who sacrificed quietly. The one who told you that you were capable when you weren't sure.

And it belongs to the men in our lives who champion women, the fathers, partners, sons, and colleagues who understand that lifting women up lifts everyone.

Whether you are a woman building a practice, a team member who keeps that practice running, a patient who advocates for chiropractic in your community, or a partner in any form, today is about recognizing the invisible labor of love that holds it all together.

 
"The women who came before us didn't just hold up half the sky. They cleared the path so we could see it."

A Coaching Thought to Carry Into Your Week

Here is what decades in practice and coaching have taught me: the people who have the most impact are rarely the ones trying to have impact. They are the ones who show up, fully, faithfully, and without a self-serving agenda.

Your mom. Your grandmother. That CA who has been with you for years. The patient who sends everyone they know to your office. The partner who handles what you can't.

They are your people. Tell them. Today is a good day for it.

And if someone who shaped you is no longer here to hear the words, honor them by becoming a little more of who they saw in you.

Happy International Women's Day.