Who I Am Thankful For*
During these times of recollecting and remembering who you should be thankful for, there is always someone that sticks with me. It is my mom.
And I know that yes, everyone is thankful for their mom, or their parents. or their fathers. But I am so appreciative of my mother and how she raised me.
I was raised in a household of four; my mom, brother, father, and me. In this family, my father was essentially a stay-at-home dad who got me ready for school, made me and my brother breakfast, and walked me to school every morning. My mother would leave at about 8:30 in the morning for work and I wouldn’t see her till after work which was about 6pm. She was and still is the breadwinner of my family and without even thinking of it, simply changed my brain’s way of thinking about gender roles.
I wouldn’t know that my mind was changed until I reached about 18 years of age. But, as I reflect each day on the way I think and the way I grow, I am always reminded of my mother.
In my mind, she is the definition of a strong woman. She is my biggest influence because she has been there my whole life. The dynamics of her job and family life was balanced very well and I respect her decision on taking each and every opportunity that was brought to her. I remember her not being there for a lot of everyday things in my childhood. She was not the one that helped me with my homework, or someone that would read me books, or was there to take me to the emergency room when I broke my leg. She was a mother that worked and travelled to Africa and around the country for weeks and came home with presents from around the world. I have been able to travel with her and see her work with some of the biggest names in politics, television, and the United Nations. Seeing her work that hard has had a positive effect on me.
Now, that family dynamic might not have worked on some families. But for mine, it was a role that shaped my whole understanding of who I can be and what I am capable of doing as a woman. I admire my mother for taking action and being a working woman. It has influenced me each day to tackle on issues that may seem too big and work as smart as I possibly can. Seeing her in a position that was typically seen as a man’s job has changed my whole way of thinking and she is the reason why I still believe that women can do anything.