A Mother’s Gift

Today would have been my mother’s 92nd birthday. Too much of my memory is tied up in those desperate final years where she was ill and I was caregiving. But this is who she also was, young, vibrant, full of life and potential. As children, we often forget our parents were human beings that through destiny became our mothers and fathers. Our lives are molded by this journey with them, the good and the bad, and over the years it’s difficult to see them as anything but parents.

My mother was a force, like many mothers of her generation. It was the last generation of women who surrendered everything else they were to be mothers. She was also the first female elected town clerk in New Jersey, highly creative, stubborn and active in life, she accomplished more than I can ever imagine doing. And she raised three kids, mostly on her own. Before we were a glimmer, she wanted to be a model. She worked in NYC at a time when women never left the sanctity of their small towns. “Toot” was a rebel for her age, defying stereotypes of the moment. She was my mother, loving and maddening, gentle and fierce. That’s what I will always remember and love her for. But she was also this beauty, a young girl with dreams and nothing but the future ahead of her. I honor that girl today.

The women of her generation silently created the foundation for my generation to thrive, and for the next generations of women to be who they are now and what they can become. It’s impossible to separate our humanity and personal life experiences from the business people we are here. Your childhood defined the way you operate in business, the person you became and how happy you are in life. You are carrying the lessons and traumas of your past with you into every meeting. Once you are conscious of this, there is power in this awareness and change is within your hands. My mother taught me this.