As a teenager and young adult, it’s true that I may not have valued her sacrifices as much as I should have. At times I was dismissive of what she had done for my sister and me. I thought she wasn’t ‘cool’ because she didn’t always seem to care about looking good or buy herself nice things. But the reality of it was that she was more focused on making sure she put my sister and me first. We had what we needed and what we wanted.
I’m a mother now and see things from her perspective. This has given me an incredible amount of respect for her. I now understand the internal dilemma’s she dealt with, especially in regards to my father. (They divorced when I was 11.)
I only hope that I can be the kind of mother she is, the kind that is supportive and loving throughout my son’s life.