MOG# 106: A three letter word

Carly has got to be one of the most resilient and bold girls I know: whatever life throws at her, she throws it right back and always come out on top. No doubt, she was raised with strength, and looks like she wants to share where that strength came from... 


MOM.

A three letter word. A role model. A warrior. A hero.

My mom is all of these things and more. My mom is, in my mind, the greatest person alive. It is very unfortunate that I don’t tell her this, because she really deserves to hear it.

When I get mad at my mom, my dad often jokes by saying, “So you mean you’re not going to call her 7 times a day?” This truly isn’t an understatement. I call my mom 5-15 times a day with calls ranging from 30 seconds to 2 hours. Excessive? Possibly in your eyes, but not in mine.

My mom is in the education field and I am well on my way to following in her footsteps. I say “in her footsteps” with great pride. For the longest time I told my mom I wanted to be disassociated with her name. I didn’t mean it in a negative way but I felt the pressure when I heard, “Oh, she’s your mom?” and “Are you going to be just like your mom?” Teenage to twenty one year old me was not having that. I was not going to live in what I perceived as a shadow. Now I do not see those words as a shadow but as a yellow brick road. The path my mom has paved for herself is one of incredible hard work and dedication. My mom cares about each and every one of the students who enter her office. My mom, I am very proud to say, tries to instill in others the qualities she has been teaching to me since I was young. These same qualities have allowed me to grow into a strong, independent, proud woman. My mom raised me to believe in myself, to think outside the box, to respect myself and those around me and to put my all into everything I do. How could I not be grateful for a woman who looks to empower youth of today to reach their highest potential and respect and appreciate themselves? I hope one day I am half of the educator my mom is. She is constantly helping me to come up with new and creative lesson ideas to reach every student. Her ideas blow me away! Where she comes up with some of her ideas I have no idea!

If I could give you all one piece of advice it would be to first of all forgive yourself for the childish things you’ve done and said in the past. You didn't know any better then but you do now. Call up that person you didn't appreciate enough and tell them how lucky you are to have them in your life. Send them a card. Write them a letter. No, you can never pay them back for everything they’ve done for you but you can make a new path. A new path of appreciation.

Teacher’s college was that new path for me. I thought I had this in the bag. I thought I could do this on my own. Negative. There was no way I couldn't have gotten through this experience without my mom. And honestly, I haven’t thanked her for that yet… which I’m probably going to do the second I finish writing.

My mom is a selfless and remarkable woman and I wish you all would have the opportunity to meet her. I know what I’ve written may not really depict in words how grateful I am for my mom, but you should all know I couldn't be more grateful for this strong female role model in my life.

Thank you isn’t enough I know, but I truly am grateful for you mom.