Moms and Dads

Circa 1941: Mom and Me

This blog is dedicated to my mother. She was my inspiration and supporter. My dad was quiet; a nice man but often seemed detached and uninterested. My mom was always interested in everything that I did. She was my mentor and my coach. She taught me so many different things which allowed me to have many interests and a wide range of talents. She encouraged me to write; she encouraged me to play. She allowed me my space. Of course, her favorite song was “Don’t Fence Me In” and she sang it to me often. Essentially, she allowed me the freedom to be myself. It was a freedom she never got to enjoy. 

She didn’t have a lot of freedom to be herself. She was a spirited women living in a time when women were supposed be quiet “homemakers” and “caretakers”. She had little time for herself. She had no way to express herself. She was frustrated and fenced in by the expectations of being female in the nineteen forties and fifties. 

She was also a Southeastern Cherokee women living in a “white man’s” world. She was born in Georgia and lived with her father and Cherokee mother in northern Georgia until she was nine years old. Her family then moved to Southern California where her father worked for the Southern Pacific railroad. She never acclimated. She was out of place and out of sync with the world around her. 

In spite of her frustration and depression, she passed on to me many of the skills and abilities that every man AND woman need to survive and thrive in their lifetimes. She was competitive, confident, outspoken, high spirited, passionate, intuitive and creative. She taught me about how feelings are related to our intuition. She inspired me to write at an early age. She supported my interest in sports and play. She taught me to be strong and to never give up. She wanted me to be happy and content with myself and with whomever I was with or in whatever I was doing. She encouraged me to be myself. She encouraged me to be what she could not be. Unfortunately, she passed on before she see herself through me. I carry her gifts with pride.

 

The lesson within this is that moms and dads can be a huge positive or negative influence on their children. They are role models and mentors. It begins and ends with moms and dads. Children will, more often than not, reflect the behavior and spirit of their parents. As an educator, I have often seen the results positive or negative parenting. Our children are our legacy. They should reflect all the best that we are and want to be. 

Thanks mom.