Awhile ago I was camped in my recliner, reading the last pages of a favorite book and listening in on a telephone conversation between my husband and his youngest daughter. The familiar flow of their conversation, centering around the unfortunate byproducts of her dysfunctional childhood suddenly brought something into sharp focus for me.

I am profoundly grateful to my mother. She relentlessly (or so it seemed) pounded into my head that I could do anything I set my mind to do.  Until just that moment, I never realized how important that message has been in my life. How totally and unconsciously I accepted it as truth.

I go forth in this world starting things I don’t know how to do, not worrying about not knowing. Knowing that I can learn it, whatever the “it” may be. That is a kind of courage – a courage that she made sure was so natural that I took it for granted.

Thank you Mom. More than these few words can express.