Mother duaghter time. My daughter is my inspiration.

Today would have been my Grandma’s 78th birthday. Happy Birthday Nana! 

This photo was taken in NYC around 1914, when my mother, Martha Behrman Weisman, (the seated baby with brown hair) was about one year old.  Martha gave me life, but it was the standing blonde little girl, just about two years older than Martha, my Aunt Dena Behrman Bengal who finished the job of mothering me when Martha died at a young age.  Pictured on the right is my grandmother, their mother, Sara Diamond Behrman, who came to this country from Poland in the late 19th century and was quickly orphaned.  After a few years in the Hebrew Orphan Asylum in NYC’s lower East side, she became a secretary and helped all five younger siblings find jobs, become independent and adapt to this new land.  On the left is Molly Diamond,  her youngest sibling, my Grand Aunt, who lived in the ancestral homestead in Brooklyn with Sara as elders.  Molly always slipped me $50 on the sly when no one else was looking and I was a student at Barnard, and then later when I lived as an NYC bohemian.  Family legend has it that Molly (who never married) enjoyed both the company of men and women in myriad ways.  All four of these women and girls inspired me by their great strength, daring and style, along with their capacity to adapt, endure, care for one another,  and by their profound love for me.

The woman pictured in this photo is my surrogate and birth mom of my daughter, Dena Martha Weisman Chance, who was born with our surrogate’s help  just over 8 years ago when I became a first-time new mom at age 48.  Our surrogate (pregnant in this photo with Dena) and her two older girls (pictured here) have become beloved members of our extended family, and she continues to inspire me daily by her extraordinary generosity love, and sisterhood!

This is my mother Colleen Mendoza. She has taught me the value of hard work and determination.

- Christina Mendoza

Here’s a submission from chef/owner Matt Janke of restaurant Lecosho, SAM’s neighbor on Harbor Steps. His grandma wasn’t kidding around in 1912.

- Maria Bouvet via Lecosho Chef/Owner Matt Janke

Alex, my best friend for over 30 years has always encouraged me to be the artist and friend I always hoped I could be. A friends like this is SO are hard to find. Thank you Alex.

- Diana Kingsley-Artist

My mom is a health coach who moved away from the PNW last year. We miss her a lot! We were able to visit my parents in Virginia this summer, and here are my two favorite women, making healthy smoothies together.

-Hafidha Acuay Osuna

My Mom, Priscilla, in her United Airlines flight attendant uniform in the 60s. My Mom wanted to see the world and left her small, South Dakotah farm town to do just that.

-Noelle Sierra Smithhart

Twins Zoe & Kathryn.

-Claire Cundiff

My daughter Alice playing on Capitol Hill in the snow

-Dylan Markman

An amazing artist who always has a hug and a helping hand for those in need.

-Jacki Robbins

The look in bride’s eyes reveals the connection to generations of women before her, and to women everywhere. Every woman is a woman that matters to me.

- Mariana Tomas

My best friend, Carolyn, and my oldest sister, Tina, have both helped shaped all (…maybe not all!) the things I do and love.

- Linda Hanlon