Peggie Russell, I Salute You

Hello Honeybees,

International Women’s Month is almost over and I would be remiss if I didn’t pay tribute to a woman that truly impacted my life. 

Of course my mother is and always will be the most important woman ever to me.  She is the reason that I am even in this world.  I would not be the woman that I am without her influence, guidance and most of all love. 

There are friends & family members that are still to this day helping & supporting me but for this post I want to share with you how Peggie Russell came into my life and changed it forever.

I can’t tell you how Peggie & I became friends. We tried for many years to figure it out but we never could put our finger on THAT moment.  What we did know and understand was that our friendship was destined.  We didn’t know how short it would be but we knew that our friendship was a gift.  Peggie was so good at listening to you but she never gave you answers.  She had a way of making you make your own decisions.  Although there was that one time that she flat out disagreed with me and told me so in no uncertain terms.  That should have been my light bulb moment but it wasn’t.  I didn’t listen and to this day I regret it.  Not once did she ever say “I told you so”, she just held my hand and helped me pick up the pieces.  That was just her way.

She encouraged me as a friend, a woman, a mother, and a Christian.  She never knew it but she also helped to shape my future career.  She led me to programs and connected me to people that would usher me into the nonprofit world, for that I am grateful.  She saw things in me that I didn’t see.  It still amazes me when some of those things manifest.

According to man Peggie left this world too soon.  According to God the timing was right. There are so many friends and family that miss her daily. She left behind a husband, four children, a granddaughter and a host of others though not related by blood, they still called her mom.  She gave not only to her family but to her community. She was a motivational speaker, author, attorney, preacher, teacher and community activist. To me was FRIEND.

So on this last day of International Women’s Month I salute you Peggie Russell.  May you rest in heaven with your angel wings. 

Belinda 

Beewisdom- There will always be a reason why you meet people, either, you need them to change your life, or, you are the one that will change theirs