My mother-in-law, Corienne Kessler, is the strongest woman I know. She will turn 94 years old this month, but you would never know it by looking at her. She looks and acts much younger than her age and thankfully, she is still completely independent. She lives a very active life going shopping and dining out regularly with friends, even driving to all these places herself. If that wasn’t amazing enough, she didn’t start working until the age of 50, after raising her five children. She worked in reception at St. John Macomb Hospital for 30 years before retiring at the age of 80. All this, accomplished by a tiny woman under 5 feet tall.

She is truly incredible, but what makes her the strongest woman I know is the amount of loss and grief she has endured in her life, while remaining upbeat, active, kind, generous, and resilient. She has endured not only the loss of her husband over 30 years ago, but also her only daughter nearly 45 years ago, her eldest son over 30 years ago, and a daughter-in-law nearly 20 years ago. Not to mention the fact that she has outlived many of her friends. “How can someone survive this much tragic loss and still thrive?” you may ask. I attribute her resilience for over four decades to her close relationships with her sister Gale, her three sons Gary, Terry and Jerry (my husband), as well as her daughter-in-law Theresa, and her grandson Kevin, along with many other family members. I also attribute it to her strong faith in God and her active social life.

She is the best example I know of continuing to move forward and thrive, regardless of life’s circumstances. No matter what pain we may endure, we can always find a reason to keep going and to be grateful for what we have in our lives, rather than what we don’t have or no longer have. She has taught me what it truly means to be courageous and resilient, and I can only hope to be half as strong as she is. I wish her many blessings, continued good health and happiness, and a truly wonderful 94^th birthday. I love you, Mom.

“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving; we get stronger and more resilient.” – Steve Maraboli

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” – Khalil Gibran

“Heroism is the triumph of spirit over circumstance.” – Neil A. Stroul, Ph.D.