They fend off the monsters under your bed and find that one shirt your closet shipped off to Narnia. They have the supernatural ability to heal bumps, cuts and scrapes with a hug and a kiss and to concoct potions that get rid of colds and sniffles. They somehow know exactly what we’re thinking and how we’re feeling, and they are able to see right through us when we say “I’m fine.” And they have an amazing sense of balance as they juggle family and work life – all without missing a soccer game or a deadline. That’s right, we’re talking about moms.
Whether she (or he for those of you dads who take on the role of both parents) is biologically related to you or is someone you look up to and consider a hero, each one has an array of talents and abilities under his or her belt for every type of moody teenager and quarter-life crisis. Their senses are always tingling with the latest fix to what are sometimes trivial, sometimes existential, crises. But the most important power these mystical beings have is the ability to teach us about the world and ourselves without us even realizing. Who can forget the constant nagging, the “I’m moving out” fights and the seemingly endless days spent running mundane errands.
We talked to some students around campus who told us their stories about the mother figures in their lives. Here is what they had to say:
Jualia Maung, 20, exploratory freshman
“I’m the first generation of women to go college on my mom’s side. My mom didn’t get to go to college because she married my dad right out of high school, so she always kind of pushed me to not want to have a boyfriend or a husband really early because she was afraid that I might make ‘the same mistake as her.’ But it’s not really a mistake, even if she always tells me that people look down on her because she got married right out of high school. Despite that, it’s the one thing that she always instilled in me to do: to become an independent woman who doesn’t need to count on a man, or husband or anyone. I think that’s one of the really important things she taught me – to be independent and not to depend on men.”
Jack Melhorn, 18, sports management freshman
“The most courageous thing my mom has ever done was… in the summer of eighth grade. We were living in northern Washington and she had to come downstairs and tell me that my whole family was moving to Bangkok, Thailand. She had to put up with three days of a crying… mess of a 14-year-old son screaming at her and telling her it was the worst decision she could ever have made. For the next three months, she had to feel like the worst mother in the world, when in fact she had the courage to stand up to me and tell me that it was the best decision that she could make for us. Four years later, I thank her everyday because it really was the best decision she ever made. That decision truly shaped me as a person, and I would be totally different if it weren’t for her deciding to move to Bangkok.”
Katie Hoover, 22, speech pathology senior
“When my uncle got diagnosed with cancer, my mom went to every single appointment with him, no matter if she had to miss work or family functions. This helped him get through it and help us all deal with it and to understand it better.”
Melanie de Lima, 19, TVR sophomore
“A moment that I had with my mom that really struck with me was when, many years ago, when I was about seven, one of her closest friends had passed away. This was the first time that I actually saw her cry and I realized that even though we all try to be really strong, especially her in order to be protective of her kids, we all have those moments of weakness inside us, and we shouldn’t hide these moments of weakness but accept them in order to be even stronger after.”
Eva García Ferres, 18, psychology freshman
“My mother is a smart woman. She could have finished her post-graduate studies a long time ago if it wasn’t because she decided to become a mother. About 23 years ago she gave up the opportunity to move forward in her career and do what she really wanted to do, and so, three years ago, she decided to come to the United States and finish her post-doctoral studies. She came alone and lived alone for one year. There was not even one day when I did not think about how difficult it was for her to leave her family back in Spain. With no doubt my mother inspires me to be courageous and resilient, and that although following your dreams might not always be easy, it is something you are bound to do sooner or later.”
Max White, 21, politics/sociology junior
“My mom means quite a lot to me. In many ways she is one of my inspirations – a person I hope to emulate. She is hard working, loyal, intelligent and loving. I hope to be at least a bit of the person my mom is in my life. She is one of the best people I know, and I am grateful for her support and affection. That’s just a bit of what my mom means to me.”
Let’s give it up for all the supermoms (and dads) out there. They don’t need a cape or a secret layer to protect us and drive us to be better every day — even if we all know the door to that one storage closet transports them to the annual mom keynote where they all exchange notes on this year’s new power evolutions.