Written for every woman who knows what this feels like.

Some women don’t get to live soft lives.
They are handed chaos, grief, and betrayal — and they have to learn how to bloom anyway.

These women become the ones who know how to carry others when their world falls apart, because they remember what it felt like when no one showed up for them.
They’re not here because it was easy.
They’re here because they didn’t give up.

And that kind of woman lives in me.

I didn’t grow in perfect soil.
I grew through cracks — through loss, through broken promises, through the shock of having to be strong when all I wanted was to rest.

Life didn’t ask if I was ready.
It just kept happening.

So I learned to stand up while shaking.
Women like this learn to build shelter from whatever is left.
We light stoves when the power goes out.
We sit beside people in their storms because we remember the silence when no one sat beside ours.
We hold breaking hands while hiding the fact that our own still tremble.

Not because we’re unbreakable —
but because we know exactly what breaking feels like.

Softness, for us, isn’t something we were given.
It’s something we fought to keep.

We still choose kindness after hurt.

We still love after betrayal.

We still hope after loss.

And when the world calls us strong, they don’t see the cost.
Strength is the scar over the wound.
It’s the breath we take before showing up anyway.

We are tired sometimes — so tired.
There are days we want to be the one held, the one cared for, the one who gets to fall apart without apologizing.
But even when we bend, we rise.

Not prettier.

But real.

Rooted.

Awake.

So if you see a woman steady in the storm, know that steadiness came from surviving it.

If you’ve ever felt held by a woman like this, know that she learned that hold by surviving empty arms.

We are here because we wouldn’t let the hard parts turn us cold.
We chose to bloom anyway.

And if any of this sounds like you —
then you are that kind of woman too. 💕

With all my heart, 💕
Whisper to Your Soul
— Theodora 🌹