Our Mommyhood

I hope I am the kind of mother that passes on valuable wisdom to my daughters. I try to take advantage of “teachable moments” and make a focused effort to emphasize actions such as protecting the Earth and caring for others.  My own mother lived her life in such a way as to role model the lessons she thought most important.  In honor of my mother, I am so grateful that she lived and breathed these life lessons about the importance of kindness:

Kindness at Work
My mother has been a professor at the same university for over 30 years.  It makes sense that when I walk with her on campus, dozens of students smile, wave, and know her by name.  What makes my mom extraordinary is that she not only knows her students and co-workers by name, but she is just as collegial with the janitors and maintenance staff as she is with her Department Chairman.  My mother has always shown me that kindness matters and that it is important to practice random acts of generosity, giving, and interest in all people—not just the higher ups.

Kindness at Play
Case in point:  when I was a child, my mother, brother and I used to attend all of the Sunday home games for the Baltimore Orioles.  Before every single game, my mom would cut fresh flowers from her garden and bring them to the 70-something year old woman who attended the women’s bathroom in our seating section.  The warm, grateful hugs I got from Henrietta before each game were always among the best part of the baseball experience for me.  I never knew my mom was doing anything out of the ordinary at the time—it was just part of our routine.  As an adult, I realize how kind it was for my mom to take time each Sunday for a woman who was barely even seen by most ballpark fans.

Kindness at Home
Each week in the summer, we packed up and spent a week in West Virginia helping repair and build houses for families in need.  On Thanksgiving Day, we spent hours in a downtown soup kitchen serving turkey and dressing to the homeless.  We took in animals, we babysat the three kids of a father whose wife had left the family—our home was open to anyone who needed us and my mother was adamant about keeping it that way.  As a child, I never experienced any of this as “duty” or a “burden.”  It was simply what we did.  It was how we lived.  It was what my mom wanted my brother and I to regard as important.  I love that she role-modeled this way of living.  Every day, I hope to measure up and pass on this great legacy of kindness.

Signe Whitson is a wonderful mom of two little girls.  Signe is the author of How to Be Angry: An Assertive Anger Expression Group Guide for Kids and has over ten years of experience working  with children, adolescents and families.

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