In thinking about Mother’s Day, I am so blessed to have my mother who is 93 years old and as sharp as a tack. She was a wonderful role model for me setting the bar high for always working to be the best I could be whether that was as a wife, mother, and working mother of 3 children. There was never a question that I would go to college and enter into the work world. She insisted on that!

Mom graduated from college and went to work in a bank right out of college and stayed for several years until she and my father were married. She supported my father from medical school through his years of building a very successful medical practice while raising six children. Once we all entered school she was off and running getting degrees in English Literature and counseling, being a therapist, teaching psychology at a local women’s college, and then, enrolled in a 4-year program in expressive arts and afterwards brought her newly learned skills to a day center for homeless and disadvantaged folks helping to bring inner world alive through art. She and my father singlehandedly sponsored an art show for many years where the art work from those in the day center was framed, on display for sale, and sold. All the money would go directly to the artist.

Mom was quite an act to follow yet I do believe I picked up her capacity to work hard, do meaningful work, and be passionate about what I do. When Mary Anne and I started Transform, Inc., she was and still is one of our greatest supporters and promoters. She shows all her friends our books and boasts proudly of our work in the world.

This Mother’s Day we are wondering who the women in your life are who have been role models for you that you would like to name and celebrate this year. If you are a working mother, who models for you how to navigate the years of juggling growing children, work and relationships? Who, in the workplace, mentors offering guidance and support? Who is or was a surrogate mother when you most needed one? And who is a dear friend that you turn to when you need a steady, loving presence to keep you grounded? Whether a biological mother, a role model, a mentor, a surrogate mom or a close friend, the care, attention and love offered by these women in our lives is what Mother’s Day is all about!

We love to have you share the names of those you would like to remember this Mother’s Day on our Facebook page and for all you moms out there, Happy Mother’s Day!

Theresa Gale
PRINCIPAL, TRANSFORM, INC.