I've been told "you're tough" a lot in the last few weeks.  And "you can do this"   "you can beat this"   and all the other encouragements we give each other.  Almost a month ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Like for most people, it was a shock and since then a whirlwind of events.  I had surgery a few days ago, and am now waiting for a "score" to determine my treatment.

But this blog today is about "Tough Maine Women".  Because when people kept telling me that I am one, I started looking around at the other women I know.  And every single one of them fit that description as "tough".  I don't even have to list the ways we suffer, you see it yourself.  And yet we all pull up our "big girl panties" as my friend Bea likes to say, and we soldier on.

Many of you don't know me, but you may get a sense of who I am from previous blogs.  You may "follow" Moosehead Marketplace on social media, you may have bought from us.  But my friends are right, I am "tough".  And I think it's the result of the lives the women before me, and now, lead.

So I would like to celebrate some of the women who have inspired me in life.  My Mother and Grandmothers, how lucky I was that they loved children and strived to see them thrive.  Aunts, who are now in their mid eighties, and delivering chicken soup to me with a smile and spring in their step.

A sister who is beyond special, and I sure got lucky with sister in laws!  Cousins, near and far. Friends.  Friends who smile in passing, friends who would do anything for you. Teachers, who taught kindness with the academics.

And now, the women in the health industry.  Their kindness and compassion, their patience and understanding, are like none other.  How lucky we all are they have chosen to help us heal.

And then, the people who are reading this now.  Who have connected with what I'm doing, have encouraged me and send me positive comments.  The happy thoughts you pass along have bouyed me here at Moosehead Lake.

So yes, I'm going to keep going.  I don't know the treatment plan yet, I'll hear within a few days.  But with all the help from my friends, I will keep Moosehead Marketplace going. 

Looking forward to it!  Janet

This photo is of my Grandmother, Violet Richards, doing laundry with her cousin.  Gram was visiting her cousin and family at the sporting camps they ran, on Long Pond by the Katahdin Iron Works.  I could write a book about her life, her legacies live on in the many descendants she left behind.