Honoring the Strength of Women This International Women’s Day

Today, on International Women’s Day, I’m reflecting on something deeply personal. The half of me that exists because of the women who came before me, the women walking beside me, and the woman I continue becoming through motherhood, fostering, adoption, and advocacy.

There is a version of womanhood the world celebrates loudly. The polished, successful, perfectly curated image. But there is another version that lives quietly in the background. The version that cries in the bathroom when no one is looking. The version that stays up late researching trauma behaviors, court dates, therapies, and IEP plans. The version that loves children who did not come from her body but somehow feel like they were always meant for her heart.

That is the version of womanhood I want to celebrate today. 

As a foster mom and adoptive mom, I have learned that motherhood does not always begin with pregnancy. Sometimes it begins with a phone call. A knock on the door. A child carrying a trash bag filled with the only pieces of their life they could bring with them.

In that moment, something inside of a woman rises.

Not because she feels ready.
Not because she feels fearless.
But because love demands courage.

Fostering is not easy. Adoption is not easy. Loving children who carry deep trauma, broken trust, and unanswered questions is one of the most sacred and challenging callings a woman can step into.

There are nights filled with tears, theirs and yours.

There are moments when behaviors make you question if you are doing anything right.

There are court hearings that feel like emotional rollercoasters. There are systems that move slowly while hearts are moving quickly. There are days when exhaustion whispers that you cannot keep going.

But then there are the moments that remind you why you did.

The first time a child laughs freely in your home.

The first time they sleep peacefully through the night.

The moment they begin to trust you enough to show their real feelings.

The moment they call you mom, sometimes softly, sometimes accidentally, sometimes after months or years of walls slowly coming down.

Those moments hold a kind of healing that cannot be measured.

Women who foster and adopt carry something incredibly unique. We hold the tension between grief and hope. We celebrate progress that others might overlook. We fight battles in therapy offices, school meetings, courtrooms, and quiet bedtime conversations.

And yet we continue.

We continue because women are resilient.

Women are healers.

Women are builders of safe spaces in a world that can sometimes feel unsafe.

This International Women’s Day, I want to celebrate every woman, not just the ones whose lives look perfect from the outside, but the ones who are doing the quiet, sacred work behind the scenes.

To the foster moms who open their homes again even after heartbreak.

To the adoptive moms who navigate identity, attachment, and healing with patience and grace.

To the women who show up for children who need stability.

To the women who advocate, who speak up, who fight systems that sometimes feel impossible to navigate.

To the women who are simply surviving and choosing to keep going.

You deserve to be celebrated.

Your strength may not always feel loud, but it is powerful.

Your love may not always be recognized publicly, but it is life changing.

Your sacrifices may not always be understood, but they matter.

Being a woman means carrying stories. Some stories are beautiful. Some are painful. Some are still unfolding.

But every story carries strength.

Today I also want to remind women that you do not have to be a mother to be worthy of celebration. Your value is not defined by titles, roles, or expectations. Whether you are raising children, building a career, healing from trauma, rebuilding your life, serving your community, or simply learning to love yourself again, you deserve honor.

Womanhood is not one path.

It is a thousand different journeys.

Every single one deserves respect.

At Youth Be Known, our mission has always been about creating space for voices that deserve to be heard, especially the voices of young people navigating identity, belonging, and healing. Behind every young person finding their voice, there are often women helping guide the way.

Teachers.

Mentors.

Advocates.

Mothers by birth.

Mothers by choice.

Mothers by heart.

So today I celebrate you.

The women who carry heavy stories and still show up with open arms.

The women who hold broken pieces and believe in restoration.

The women who have faced battles no one saw and still chose love.

If no one has told you lately, your work matters.

Your love matters.

Your resilience matters.

The world is better because women like you refuse to stop showing up.

Happy International Women’s Day to the women who nurture, protect, advocate, heal, rebuild, and rise again no matter what chapter of life they are in.

You are powerful.
You are needed.
You are worthy of celebration.

To every foster mom and adoptive mom walking this journey, you are not alone.

Your story, your courage, and your love are changing lives in ways you may not fully see yet.

Keep going.

The world needs women like you.

-Chenita Tayborn