To a Modern Mom on Mother’s Day

Mother and Child

I just had a lovely Mother’s Day with the family- it was very low-key, just hanging out at the house and eating hamburgers expertly made by my brother. Over the years, as I get older, I appreciate my Mom more and more, and the way she was able to blaze her own trail in a time when having a career  before marrying and having children was common.

She came to the U.S. with her family from Mexico at age 9, knowing no English. In high school she quickly became known as a class clown, impressing the girls with her spot-on Elvis impression. After graduating from high school, she began working as a bank teller.  That would mark the beginning of a career in banking that would span 26 years and see her leave the profession as an executive, wife and mother of two small children.

Before meeting and marrying my Dad at the bank where they both worked, she managed to travel to Mexico, Spain, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil with friends, living life to the fullest before settling down in her late 30s. There is much more to her, of course, like her kind, giving nature and sense of humor, but the very facts of her life are pretty remarkable.  For my friends who wonder if their window to have children is gently slamming shut, I remind them that my Mother had me at age 39 and my brother at age 42.  It is entirely possible to have it all.  Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.