My grandmother died in a car crash when my mom was 15. She left behind three girls, a husband, and a successful restaurant—“Blue’s Place”—the talk of San Antonio.
My grandfather never recovered from that loss. He sold the restaurant and retreated to his cattle ranch, a widower for the rest of his life.
My mom, the eldest of the three girls, picked up the slack. She kept the house clean, did most of the cooking, made sure her sisters did their homework and tucked them in at night.
She lost her childhood, was abandoned with a one-year-old by her first husband, and had to start over again when my father came out as gay. Still, she kept going.
Through all the tragedy and loss, my mom kept turning life’s raw imperfections into a well we could all drink from.
My mother in Amsterdam, 1971
I write this for International Women’s Day—not because my mom was a saint, but because she was a woman who picked up the pieces. Like so many others.
We stand one foot over the threshold of the Year of the Fire Horse. In Chinese astrology, the horse carries yang energy—active, dynamic, life-generating. Fire Horse years come every 60 years and are said to disrupt the existing order.
The last Fire Horse year was 1966, a year marked by the start of China’s cultural revolution and the escalation of the Vietnam War. So far 2026 has not failed to deliver.
Tang Dynasty painted pottery horse figure
As I sit writing this from a cafe in Lisbon, I wonder about the new war in Iran, the old war in Ukraine, the escalating cartel violence in Mexico, the Epstein scandal, the monetization of everything, even our conversations with AI.
I don’t have any answers, but I can smell when it’s time to take out the trash.
For International Women’s Day I want to salute the women leaders who, against cultural odds, are doing their part to disrupt our existing order. Because it’s hard to pretend this is order.
Instead we can call it hangover patriarchy, late stage capitalism, and billionaire impunity.
Women are not perfect. But research suggests women leaders are more likely to practice participative, relational leadership—styles associated with stronger cohesion and community investment.
When women build businesses, they are more likely to reinvest in families and local economies. As the Harvard Center for International Development notes, female enterprises are more likely to create social impact—whether by generating jobs for women, investing in education, or supporting their communities.
I sometimes wonder if what we call strength is simply what survival looks like over generations.
Whether in Tokyo, Mexico City, or beyond, women stepping into power are navigating systems built long before they arrived. Will 2026 be the year that the social “order” ruptures so completely that there will be nothing left but for women to pick up the pieces? I don’t know. But what I do know is that when women lead, communities often see measurable social and economic ripple effects.
The Fire Horse doesn’t wait for permission. Neither should we.
THE BIG PRINT
Perhaps this is the year women stop being history’s cleanup crew, and instead start shaping the burn.
TAKE IT FROM… Eleanor Roosevelt, American political figure, diplomat, and activist.
She helped shape a new global order after the last great rupture, leading the effort to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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