My parents are an interracial couple who married in 1970- in a climate then was nowhere near as accepting of that love as we are now. I did not grow up with Cheerios commercials. Schools in my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky were not even integrated until the year I entered Kindergarten. My parents have many stories about the way the world (and even their own families) treated them as a married couple.
And yet, despite all of their hardships and adversity they somehow raised three smart, popular, funny, and caring daughters.
- Deirdre “Deedee” Bianca Cummings – Author, Lawyer, Therapist & Entrepreneur, and Founder of Make A Way Media
- Amanda Ella Compton – Attorney & Law Professor
- Louisa Lucia Pecchioni – One of the very few female vascular surgeons in the country
My mother was a Mast. My father, a Pecchioni. Two very strong and respected families in their communities. Pecchioni [pronounced Peck-ee-oh-nee] is Italian and means “keeper of the bee.” The Pecchionis were beekeepers in Northern Italy. A severe drought forced them to migrate South. They eventually settled in Sicily and continued to raise bees. Bees to this day have been significant symbols in our family.
I mean… this alone… this is something to uphold, cherish and celebrate.
But here’s another significant family fact: My maternal grandmother named my mother Andrea Dianne Mast. Dianne was the name of a very kind nurse who helped my grandmother give birth to my mother. This name has been continued throughout our family. The three oldest daughters– of the three strong Pecchioni girls– are named Kayla Dianne (my baby), Sofia Dianne (Louisa’s baby), and Ella Dianne (Amanda’s baby).
Just last month I was talking to my oldest niece, Sofia and she was unaware of the significance of her middle name. I know for a fact she was told when she was much younger, but over time she had forgotten how significant her middle name is to our family.
Almost all families have some rich treasured history like this. I feel so proud to know that we are paying tribute to our grandmother, our mother, and a beautiful and kind nurse who we never got to meet, but touched our lives so directly through the birth of my mom. I think she would be blown away by the three beautiful eldest granddaughters of Andrea Dianne Mast Pecchioni who all now carry on this memory.
These are the stories you may never hear, but that does not mean they are not special or inspiring. It just means you never heard of them. When I think of International Women’s Day, a day that is intended to highlight the resilience, achievement, and sheer power of women, I think of women like my sisters, my nieces, and my mother, even though she passed away from breast cancer exactly 21 years ago.
You don’t have to look to the sky or to the library shelves to find heroes. Sometimes you are raised with them. Sometimes you are raised by them. And sometimes you raise a few heroes of your own. Celebrate International Women’s Day by celebrating the women in your life. There is nothing they cannot do.