Chapter 1: If Your Mother is a Queen …: Teachable Moments on Leading and Living to Serve

I am the mother of two daughters. My mother is the mother of two daughters and so many of the lessons I learned about being the mother I am are from her model of excellence. I often tell my daughters that I strive to meet the mark set so very high by my mother’s regal walk in life. They often commend my efforts with the exception of my desire to dress them alike—a pattern set by my mother, Dorothy, when I was a child. Quite uniquely, my older sister, Monica, and I are six years apart which is the same age difference between my two girls. My girls found the matching outfits to be ridiculous considering their age difference as I am sure my sister and I did at some point in our lives. Nevertheless, my girls now have fond memories of their twinning days and as adults, appreciate this representation of my effort to show equitable love. They also recount my insistence that they not leave the house in an unpresentable state. From Dorothy’s lesson, a mother never leaves home dressed in clothing that outshines the clothing of her child. Furthermore, a mother never sends her child away from home in some manner that is unrepresentative of her love for them. This attitude pervaded every aspect of my mother’s response to leading and loving her children. The effort given was always her best.