FEBRUARY 27 "WHO IS YOUR HERO?"

 At a work meeting recently, I was given a get-to-know-you, icebreaker question: “Who do you most admire?” Without hesitation, I knew my answer would be my mother. When I was asked to talk a little about my mom and why I chose her, I found that expanding on it was a bit more difficult to put into words. My mother didn't have to overcome impossible obstacles, nor does she have an astonishing success story. Despite that, she is still my hero. Because of my mother, I learned the value of the dollar at an early age. My mother instilled practical life skills within me. She never sugar-coated life. But what I remember most is when I was 12, we packed up and moved to Ohio to live with my grandparents. My mother, seeing our lives had come to a standstill and my father would never change, had the guts to get out of a bad situation and find us a better one. Things weren't immediately smooth sailing. We lived with my grandparents for what was probably the longest few months of my life. I lost my old friends and I started a new school in the middle of my sixth grade year. There were a lot of tears and a lot of long nights. I probably wasn't always understanding and thankful to my mother through all of it, but that transitional time was ultimately just the rocky beginning of a new, better life. We eventually started a new life in Virginia. My mother remarried a great, hard-working man who treats us well and provides for us in ways my biological father never could. My household no longer feels hostile and unhappy. They have since retired to a cabin in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, just like they've wanted for years. I owe all of my accomplishments to my mother. She never set unrealistic expectations, but she pushed me to do my best. She taught me how to work for what I want, rather than expect it for free. I learned that considering the long-term outcome over the short-term is important in decision-making. Most importantly, and through her own life choices, she taught me the importance of standing up and doing what is best for me. I am a happy, mostly well-adjusted adult, and I'm thankful to my mother every day for making that happen. She may not be an obvious hero, but she is mine.