View From the Editor’s Desk: Mom

Thank you to all the moms, step-moms, substitute moms, dads-who-take-the-place-of-moms, grandmoms, aunts, and everyone else who cared for children. We celebrated them yesterday but, in reality, we celebrate them every day.

Over the weekend, I looked at a photo of my mom from our last Mother’s Day with her in 2019. We didn’t know at the time we only had two more months with her before she lost her battle with congestive heart failure.

A businesswoman in Richmond at a time when mothers usually stayed home with the children, Mom passed along a strong work ethic to my two younger sisters and me, teaching us to work hard, learn from others, be respectful, and always be grateful.

One of the most important things she gave us was a love of reading and words. We were not rich in wealth but she opened the world to us from the beginning by reading nightly from what became beloved children’s stories and poetry that we memorized and read over and over. I can still recite, “Christopher Robin Is Saying His Prayers,” and “The Duel” that begins, “The gingham dog and the calico cat, side by side on the table sat.”

To this day we three sisters all love writing and reading, and tend to collect far too many books – or can there ever be *too* many books? – and sharing thoughts on paper and through our keyboards.

Dad gave us a love of the outdoors and conservation and protecting the environment. Mom gave us a love of literature and reading that opened the world to us. We were richer than we knew.

Keep the faith….

~Lynn