With it being International Women's Day yesterday it really got me thinking about my sister, Marie.

Now I normally don't talk about personal things with you but I watched a video the other day and just needed to share my thoughts with you.

My sister and I grew up together and being only 11 months apart we hung out a lot but there were very definite roles defined by how we grew up.

I would be the knight and she would be the princess, or I was the cowboy in white saving her from bad guys...there was always a sense of the male role models being strong while the female role models needed help.

Why wasn't my sister dreaming of being the good guy saving me?  Why wasn't she dreaming of being an astronaut or riding on a horse carrying a lance?

Well, the sad truth is all the fairy tales, books, comic books, tv shows, etcetera we grew up with never showed girls or women in a strong, positive light.

Sure there were a few positive pop culture icons like the Bionic Woman or Wonder Woman but they were few and far between and even those two examples could've been stronger.

So, while going through Facebook on Tuesday night I came across a video about 2 women who decided to do something about it and put together a book about positive female role models to inspire young girls to aspire to greater things.  I thought, wow, this sure would've been great for my sister to have had growing up in a family of 3 older brothers.

The book is called Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. It's the most funded book in crowdfunded history.

And it's not just for girls as I feel it's still an important book for both boys and girls to read or have read to them.  Boys need to know that girls can be strong, positive leaders that do great things in what is unfortunately still perceived as 'traditional' male careers or jobs. 

I still see and hear antiquated expressions and not just on the school playgrounds and hopefully this book helps to change that.

The woman in my life that I always look up to is my sister, Marie, she has a strength that has steadily grown over the years and continues to grow.

I often don't say it but she is my inspiration.  If I'm having a bad day, I just think of her and know that tomorrow will be better.

Okay, I'll climb down off my soapbox now but I just wanted to share that with you.

Hope you celebrated International Women's Day yesterday by celebrating the women in your life or sharing a story about positive female role models beause we need more of them.

- Kevin