My mother Kay Smith, who is now 92, taught me so much….I learned from my mom to never accept a lousy seat in a restaurant. Usually women are seated by the kitchen and I always speak up—and am moved. She taught me to immediately call or send a message when someone is in trouble or has lost a loved...
Since becoming a mom, I've learned the importance of drinking. Being a parent is hard. So hard that it makes me question evolution. If reproduction is a biological necessity for our species, then why is parenting so damn hard? Darwin has some explaining to do. Or maybe Freud. I have a five-year-old...
My mom taught me how to be tough. Not tough in the way we usually think of the word “tough,” you know what I mean, bleeding from the head, walk it off, fistfight on the school bus, that sort of thing. (My mom’s like 5’ 3” and only weighs a buck and change maybe, though I did once witness her take a...
My Mom never, ever gives up. In her gentle and cheerful way, she never gives up. Mom is 92 years old, she's had health and other challenges galore, and she never gives up. She is grounded in her faith in God. That faith has empowered her to face one obstacle after another with patience and grace...
My mother taught me to “reach for the stars.” My mother taught me to believe in myself and to believe deeply and passionately for all that I strive for. She told if I am true to myself, that I can accomplish anything. Today, I am a national spokesperson on climate change action and advocacy. I am...
Most of what I know about love, self-respect, and kindness came from lessons taught by my mother. My mother taught me about the strength we gather from family, both the one we are born with and the one we create for ourselves. She taught me that at our lowest points, the hand of love will catch us when we feel like we are falling through space, pulled down by the gravity of despair.
My mom is an adventurer. A passionate reader and investigator of life. A compassionate advocate for helping people. She taught me I didn't have to be a certain way just because I was female. That gave me the greatest freedom of all-- to be myself. Thanks, mom! Happy Mother's Day.
Mami has been gone for three years now. And every day, at least once a day, I am reminded of something she said, some lesson she passed on. Who's Your Family? The biggest lessons were from that last year. Where we spoke of family and friends and the definition of each. The fact that Mami had...