Sharing My Everyday Hero: My Mother

What is your definition of a hero? In this modern day and age hero can mean many different things.

According to the dictionary, a Hero means “a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal.”

To me, a hero is someone that gives selflessly and puts others’ needs before their own when facing adversity.

My mother is the epitome of both definitions.

From when I was born, my mother decided she wanted to stay home with me and then my sister when she came along 18 months later. This was all fine and good until my father surprised the 3 of us when we came home from our summer vacation in Florida with a For Sale sign in our yard.

From that moment on, nothing would remain the same. My parents had a really messy divorce at this point. Outside of our own trials and tribulations, my mom had to step up and handle this. Priority number one was getting us moved into a new home.

We downsized from a decent size 3 bedroom 3 bath house with a yard in a nice suburban neighborhood to a small dumpy 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment off of a busy highway. My mother couldn’t afford the nicer places that allowed the pets we had. My mom is not the type to get rid of animals to better our living situation.

Needless to say, things were rough for a period of time but we survived!

A lot of my friends from school had the perks of Daddy’s credit card to pay for anything they wanted. But because my mom was working a lot to help support us, my sister and I were required to learn the value of work as soon as we were of legal working age.

Looking back, I don’t know how my mom did what she did with the poise that she maintained during this time. Things seemed to work in our favor. I think it was because of my mother’s motto and positive thinking. She always said we would make it work.

No matter the cost, time constraints, or logistics. Some may have said we couldn’t go on vacation or be on the cheer squad when the cost of the uniforms was so expensive. Yet, somehow we still managed to do the things we wanted to do.

My mom is the strongest and kindest person I know. She always thinks of others’ needs before her own. She is now retired and able to live the life she has always wanted. She raised me to be the responsible & creative adult that I am now. I am eternally grateful for her strength and persistence to keep moving forward with life. Many would revel in their own self-pity while blaming the world for bad things happening to them. My mom is my hero.

The event that inspired this story is…

WOMEN: NEW PORTRAITS – EXHIBITION OVERVIEW

In 1999, Leibovitz published Women, a book of portraits made in collaboration with Susan Sontag. The popular series of photographs was accompanied by an exhibition that opened to great acclaim at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Launched in London in January 2016, the UBS x Leibovitz collaboration continues to explore the changes in the roles of women today while bringing to life one of the greatest art exhibitions of the 21st century. The tour will travel to ten host cities over the course of twelve months.