Happy Mother's Day to all, but especially to the woman who has everything to do with my choice to become a teacher and a writer: My mother, Kitty.

My mother's first career was as a teacher.  In order to stay home with us during the day, she taught adult education at night and, later, English as a second language to (mostly) refugees.  I have vivid memories of her students from the latter.  Our entire family would be invited to their homes for elaborate, exotic meals that likely took days to make.  They would give us cultural trinkets that we would treasure until broken (my favorite being a too-delicate-for-a-child Polish pysanky egg).  When my father's job required us to move from West Virginia to Florida, the frequency of those dinners increased.  Her students were heartbroken that she would have to leave and wanted to demonstrate in any way possible how much they appreciated her knowledge, kindness, and patience as a teacher.  I did not have the language or awareness at the time to realize that what I was seeing was reverence.  I have no doubt that this later influenced my decision to become a teacher.  While my high school students are about as irreverent as they come, there are moments of complete fulfillment when I realize that I have made a lasting impact on the life of a child.  I have no doubt that the former students of my mother continue to feel the impact of her teaching.

My mother's current career is as a self-employed Clinical Social Worker (therapist).  As I embark on what is my own path to self-employment, I think about the courage that it must have taken her to first leave the comfort of the teaching field to seek her masters degree, then years later to leave the security of working for someone else.  She took these giant leaps of faith at times in her life when others would have been too apprehensive: Her eldest child was going to college, her husband was starting his own business, she was already in her 40s...  It is because she has modeled fearlessness and independence (in more ways than I have time to write about) that I confidently sit here now and type, knowing that with perseverance and the support of my mother (among others, of course), I can do what I love for a living.

There are innumerable ways in which my mother has influenced my life, but my focus must remain professional.  Besides, she taught me that it is not polite to be boastful!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!