My mom taught an interesting dichotomy of limits. While there were definitely strict limits at home, my sister and I were always told we could do anything, be anything, go anywhere—in effect, there were few limits.

As a girl, I did not have anyone in my life who said, “You can’t do that because you are a girl,” or “You can’t be that because you are a girl.” My mom is a mathematician— I didn’t really notice that she was often the only woman in her department. At my house, Mom and Dad both hung sheetrock. Both laid bricks. Both ran the power saws and tools. Both were teachers in fields they loved. Both participated in raising us.

My grandmothers were both formidable women, educated and fierce in the raising of their families and management of their households. It never occurred to me to wonder why they were not employed outside the home—they were towers of influence, well-read, and hard-working. They were the CEO’s at home—taking a job elsewhere would have been a demotion of sorts.

Of course I still run into people who have misperceptions about the innate abilities of women. I don’t make it my mission to force a new worldview on them…much. More and more, I feel sad that their ignorance keeps them from seeing all the beautiful ways women choose to use their influence and strength. I know that my mom and other women of her generation pushed the boundaries and took opportunities despite criticism, so that my generation could truly know fewer limits. I am so thankful to have grown up in a family of strong women (and men who were able to love and appreciate them) in the Southwest. And I am especially thankful for my mom, who modeled the beauty of a woman’s strength.