Happy Mother's Day!
Since today is Mother’s Day, I have done some thinking on all the moms in my life past and present and what they taught me. Here is a list that is not complete by any means…
To my maternal grandmother for teaching me how to write a thank you note and the importance of sending a thank you note.
To my paternal grandmother who gave me my love of silk scarves and so taught me the various ways to wear one.
To my friend Ellen, who taught me that you can choose your family (my daughter calls her Grandma Ellen) and how to make a perfect pie crust.
To Betty Rubel and Wilma Flintstone, my cartoon moms, who taught me that with a man you need to pick your battles (same holds true for kids too).
To my friend, Linda, who taught me to let your child follow his/her passion. When her son was growing up, he would watch baseball games on TV with the volume off so he could be the announcer. Today as an adult he works for the company that supplies digital scoreboards to stadiums, training people how to use the board.
To my aunt, who taught me that it can be empowering to go gray and show your gray (every time Sylvie points out a gray hair to me, I say, “Ok, I’m going gray.”)
To my fictional mom, Kinsey Millhone (a character created by the author, Sue Grafton) for teaching me the importance of speaking your mind and being a no-holds-bar person (She was/is a badass PI and actually not a mom).
Last but not least to my mom, who taught me the true meaning of unconditional love, to accept your children for who they are (and not try to change them) and to ignore a child having a temper tantrum (my parents did this to me and I did it to Sylvie. Sorry, Girl!)
And so to all the moms, I know Happy Mother’s Day and may you be seen as a role model to your kids and grandkids.