A beach urchin posted this photo on instagram a while back with the caption Matriarchy. It’s my cousins npJane and UKW and meeeee. We are not really matriarchs. When we were kids, our grandma Margaret was the beach matriarch, at least for the FinFam. Our friends the McNott’s had their own matriarch.

The next generation, The Commander, Radical Betty, The White Tornado, and Bubs took over the family matriarchical duties. I would add that The Comm and Radical went beyond beach duties. They were Forces of Nature in various organizations around town, for one thing helping found a program of “elder’s” classes at the local university.

Make no mistake. The males of that generation were highly successful, talented people in their own right. (And are, as MDUH is still alive and thriving.) One of the things our fathers did not do was stand in the way of our mothers’ choices to have careers (if they wanted them) and do pretty much what they wanted to do in general. And why not? They all made positive contributions to society, gainfully employed or not.

So us three in the pic are not matriarchs (I’m not sure I’m ready to be one 🐽). I do know that the beach urchins hold npJane and UKW in particularly high regard. Liz has had a special relationship with np since she was an infant and UKW is just an all around superwoman, not unlike her mother (Radical).

It’s a pretty sweet pic (there’s that word again) in general, actual matriarchs or not. And I LOVE the crazy looking pano.

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