Nominate a hero

I saw a Nominate your hero link on a news website today and I got to thinking about who I would nominate as my hero. I think it would have to be my Mom. Not because she did anything out of the ordinary, but because what she did was so steadfast and ordinary. She’s just always been there for me. For support and love and guidance and a few stern words when necessary. She worked full time out of the home and full-time in the home. We never had packaged foods – all of our meals were made from scratch even after working a full day in the office. We never had white bread or margarine. I don’t think I had a slice of Won.der bread until I was in my 20’s. She showed me what it means to be an independent woman after being brought up in a low-income home that held some violence. She told me once that when she and my Dad got together that she said “If you ever hit me, you better hit me hard and make it count because you’ll never get the chance again.” She was 23 when she had me and I was a surprise. She never made me feel unwanted or regretted the choices that she made, but she always let me know that there are choices for me. When I’m in the kitchen cooking, I notice how I hold the spoon the same way or dice vegetables just like she did. I put my makeup on the same way I saw here putting on hers. I notice how we have the same hands, and we have the same expressions. Everyone seems to worry about growing up to be like their mother. Of course there are some things that I don’t want to continue, but for the most part if I grow into being like her (even more) I am pretty ok with that.