As a teen, I read two newspaper columns faithfully.  I loved Sydney Harris – the i satirical, political grammarian of his times.  (Think Grammar Girl only old, male and angry).  And, Erma Bombeck.

Why Erma Bombeck?  I could so relate to her.  Being stuck in the middle of the Feminist Revolution, trying to fit into both worlds and not.  That was me, too.  Her mom was perfect.  Stuck in an airport?  Her mom was prepared.  Her father bringing home people for dinner with no notice.  Her mom could handle it.

Erma – well in an airport, she had an apple and a spritz of perfume.  Dinner – well, they could go out.

And on men, her version of Conversation with God was the best.   She asked, “Why did men have big feet?”  So their kids could walk in their footprints in the snow.  Big hands – better to cup small faces and wipe away the tears.  So what if men couldn’t tie a hair ribbon or push a button through a small hole.  They were designed to protect their children.

And most of us have read her article on living life to the full.  A column she wrote when she was in her 50s – years before she found out she was dying.  It talked about, if given a second chance,  all of things she would have done.

This article has had the most profound impact on me.  As any good mom does, I’ve put my life on hold until our girls were grown.  At the same time, I’ve quit saving things for “special occasions” or for later.  There may never be a later.

Erma has taught me “Life is a gift.”  To leave my mark each day – those feminine footprints  in the snow – so that our girls will have a path to follow and not to wait for a special occasion.  It’s more important to create the special occasion or memory than to wait for life to happen.

And one more thing.  Erma died on  Earth Day – April 22, 1996.  Coincidence?