Mama

But one of the most important things I think I took for granted is that my mom is fearless.  She’s strong.  She’s willing to work and learn and try, and she’s not afraid of any of it.  She learned how to swim after moving to the US and when she was in her 30s.  She was always the one to fiddle with the new VCR players to set them up, even though she’d grown up in a home that only occasionally had electricity and running water.  Just a few years ago, after entering her 60s, developed a love of reading (and not just any books – history and biographies. serious stuff here).

It never occurred to her to be afraid or to think, “I can’t do that.”  Or maybe it did; but she did it anyway.  Decades of using a second language and not being accustomed to reading full-length books didn’t stop her from doing it, and loving it.  Not having ever before even owning a television didn’t prevent her from just deciding to figure it out – and succeed.

I love that she’s never afraid to try something new, just because it’s new.  To her, it’s just another adventure, another puzzle to figure out.  She never actually let us in the kitchen growing up; that was her place, and she liked things a certain way (it is not unlikely that she managed to pass this other trait along to her eldest, as well).  I never touched a sewing machine until a couple of years ago because she was too busy encouraging us to do our homework or practice our violins or just chug along as the bookworms we were.

But because she wasn’t afraid, I’m not either.  I love to cook, and while she didn’t give me recipes, she did give me wholesome meals and a belief that I could create them.  She didn’t teach me to thread a needle, but she did instill in me a belief that I can learn anything, create anything, accomplish anything I want.

My mom is a strong woman.  She raised strong girls.  I hope I can be that same kind of mama.

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Update: Congratulations, Maxine!