role models

My friend Meli and I were recently discussing our role models and I thought hard for the first time in a little while (but certainly this is always in the back of my mind) about my mom's influence on my life and about how she lives hers. She is without doubt one of the strongest women I know. Her ceaseless, selfless dedication to her family is always present and welcomed, but never showy or burdensome on us. At the same time she always makes sure that she has adequate space and time for her own passions; her own slice of life. She has a rare combination of fierce independence, strong but not overly assertive personality, open-minded intelligence, and traditional family values (and by that I don't mean conservative or religious - she is liberal and not very religious).

She also, in my mind at least, has achieved some amazing things in her life:

• married for 37 years and maintained, at least from my perspective, a healthy balance between her independence and her dedication to my father
• raised 2 kids, worked part-time and put herself through graduate school (while my dad worked very, very hard to support her and us) in the late 70's all at the same time (she has a Master's in Biochemistry)
• despite almost dying as a child and as a young mother losing a kidney, she still works out on a regular basis and keeps herself in top shape
• working in conjunction with my dad, instilled her 2 children with a sense of wonder at the world, open-mindedness, and with a workable set of organized-religion-free ethics that has enabled both of us to find our own way in the world.

For these things and much, much more I am eternally grateful that she (and my dad) is in my life, although I must admit to having some silly, vestigial (and I think quickly fading) "male" misgivings about actually telling her all this...