WMM~Madelyn Dunham (The family's cornerstone)

CNN broke the news Monday afternoon that Senator Barack Obama lost his 86 year-old grandmother, Madelyn Dunham. This comes at a time when Americans are preparing to elect the next president of the United States, which may very well be Senator Obama. Less than two weeks ago, Obama left the campaign trail to visit his grandmother. At the time it was announced that Toot, as Obama affectionately called his grandmother, was recovering from a broken hip. Today Obama and his sister Maya also confirmed that she was battling cancer.

The senator has mentioned his grandmother throughout his entire presidency. She along with Obama's grandfather, raised him for the majority of his life except for the year's he spent with his mom, stepfather and sister in Indonesia. It's bittersweet that I'm writing about Ms. Dunham now when just last week my admiration for her increased tremendously as I watched Obama's half-hour commercial. Obama and Maya referred to their grandmother as the cornerstone of their family. He went on to mention that she was humble and the type of person who would delay taking care of herself to provide for her family. As a child growing up in a single-parent household, Obama's grandmother reminds me so much of my mom. My mother continuously put herself last to ensure that I along with my brother and sisters were well provided for.

I've often discussed with my husband that it couldn't have been easy for Obama's grandmother to raise a bi-racial child in the 60's. In all honestly, this would not have been accepted by most families. But with the love of a grandmother, Ms. Dunham embraced Barack and showered him with love until her death. Ms Dunham was an amazing women, certainly a woman making moves. Barack shared throughout his campaign that his grandmother worked her way up from a bank secretary to a vice-president. It's tenacity such as this that makes Ms. Dunham apart of a long line of Women Making Moves!

While we may think that we have all the time in the world, life can unfortunately be short. I encourage you to live live to the fullest. Reach-out to your loved ones and express your love for them. Also, take time to acknowledge the women in your lives that are making moves. A great way to do this is to leave comment and forward the link to the outstanding woman in your life. I would like to acknowledge my mother, aunts and sisters who I admire for their compassion and spunk as outstanding women!

Women, start making your Moves today!