Happy Mother’s Day, dumplings! PD writers and editors are sharing some of their best mom stories.
1) The best advice my mom gave me.
2) How my mom and I bond together.
3) Why my mom is my hero.
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Mary Hood, Beauty Editor
1) The best advice my mom gave me was to be inclusive of others, to make a conscious effort to help others feel welcome and at ease in your presence.
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Jessie Brown, Contributor
1) The best advice my mother has given me is to be strong-hearted and to never give up, even if the world seems to be against you; and I’ve been keeping to her word <3
2) My mother and I bond the most when we’re in the kitchen cooking or baking! That’s where we can gossip, vent, and eat our hearts out. 😉
3) My mother has been through many obstacles throughout her life and is the most selfless person I’ve ever met. She puts everyone before herself and will lend a helping hand to anyone who needs it. She sacrificed a lot for my brothers and I to live happily so I’m very lucky and thankful that I have her as my dear mother.
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Karina Alexander, Contributing Editor
3) My mom moved to the United States from Mexico with a few possessions and minimal money. She started a life for herself in Northern California from scratch and worked hard to give her kids the life she never had. As cliché of a story this might be, she never has asked for anything in return and has made tremendous sacrifices in her life. Forever grateful.
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Jennifer Kurdyla, Features Editor
1) The best advice mom gave me is: Just let it soak.
2) We bond through tea time, of course! Chamomile usually calms our mutually high levels of stress.
3) My mom knows me better than I do, which means she’s saved me from myself on more than one occasion–whether it was helping me pick the right prom dress or the right college.
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Z Zoccolante, Contributor
1) My mom would always sing little happy songs as she woke my brother and me up for school. We were obviously grouchy getting up and I didn’t think much of her songs then but I remember them today and sometimes will find myself humming them in the morning. One such song was “this is the day that the Lord has made.” So without even speaking, she gave me this advice. There was also a tiny wooden plaque she hung by my bed when I was a kid. It had a little bear and it said, “Kind actions begin with kind thoughts.” (Her mom used to tell her the old school mantra, “If you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all.”) For some reason that little bear plaque has been imprinted in my mind, reminding me to be kind to others.
2) How we bond: Near my house in Hawaii, there used to be a shave ice stand about a 5-minute walk from my house. Since I was a teenager it was my magic place where I wrote and daydreamed. It was also a special place for my mom and I because we’d split a massive shave ice with fruit and azuki beans. She was my shave ice buddy. This tradition continued into my twenties when I’d drive to her house after work and we’d take a walk and share a shave ice before going home separately for dinner. It was a time for us to chat about our lives and to laugh with each other. Plus, it’s always comforting to know that your mom wants to spend time with you. I didn’t realize growing up that not everyone has a mother who is available in this way and it’s made me grateful. Since the shave ice shop closed we switched to a coffee shop for chai lattes, which we still visit when I’m back home.
3) It took me a while in life to see my mom’s feminine qualities as strengths. I struggled with my gravitation to a masculine way of doing things, thinking that it was more powerful. One of the things my mom has taught me is the softer side of strength.
Perhaps she’s my hero because she read to me all the time as a kid. I believe she is the reason I adore words and began to read and write since childhood. She also had daily arts and crafts projects and took us exploring everywhere, which propelled my fascination for observing the world, for seeing beauty, and for creating things that made me feel something and be able to confidently express it to the world.
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Juhea Kim, Editor in Chief
2) Mom and I have always bonded through talking about literature, art, and philosophy. There are so many loves we share this way, from Rostropovich, Van Gogh, Chopin, poetry…I’m extraordinarily blessed to have a mother who gave me her need of the vital and the beautiful.
3) My mom is the most independent, courageous, and self-possessed, yet completely nurturing and maternal person. She worked all her life and had her own identity beyond us, but I never once doubted her unconditional love. She showed me that a person can be both self-fulfilled and deeply loving, and that’s shaped the person I’ve become.
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Jessica Renae, Contributing Editor
2) How my mom and I bond together:
My mom and I have a few little mother/daughter traditions that keep our relationship strong even now that I’m an adult living far away from home. My mom is a huge tea lover and would always take me to afternoon tea with her when I was growing up. Our classy ritual followed me into adulthood so that every time when I visit we live like royalty for an hour by indulging in old-fashioned “high tea.” And my other favorite bonding activity is this: every year for my birthday since I was 18, my mom and I always go to a vegan restaurant for lunch and one of our favorite art museums in Los Angeles. These little pockets of mommy/me time are never about getting cultured with some high class, trendy activity, but sharing, opening up to each other and remaining close even with the little time we get to be together now that I’m an adult.
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Jessica Riley-Norton, Contributor
3) My Mom is my hero.
If you’d knew her, the first thing you would think of is her infectious smile. It is a smile of sincere kindness coated in fun. It expresses her general attitude. No matter what is going on, my mother can offer the most compassionate smile, sprinkled with wit. Nothing is too heavy to be lifted with her unbreakable spirit. She has a knack for turning the mundane into something whimsical. I have caught her more than once jumping into puddles with two feet, grinning from ear to ear. She has a clever joke on spot at any moment. She seems to be smack-dab in the moment, aware of the humor and joy as it arrives.
My mom never complains. She smiles through injuries, colds, surgery, chemo, and endless snowy winters. I complain to her, and she comforts me with her hugs and her uplifting words and advice. She is incredibly down to earth; she can express her true heart and perfectly listen to yours. She is resilient, and she is the strongest person I know.
Growing up, she gave me books about Sacajawea and The Little House on the Prairie. She herself had many great adventures living out West (in a tee-pee for a hot minute!), and always encouraged me to seek out my own way, and to be my own person. She is an artist. She can express her brilliant mind through all kinds of creative endeveours, and inspires me to do the same. She is still teaching me great strength, self-reliance, not to take things too serious, a sense of adventure, and most of all, how to be a loving, nurturing mother.
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Alexandra Sirocky, Contributor
1) The best advice my mom has given me is simply the phrase “this too shall pass.” She has said it to me so many times over the years and has reminded me just to be present with what is, because its exactly where I’m supposed to be. I can always depend on her to give me advice and support me through tough times. Mom, thank you for always being a guiding light in my life. I am so thankful for our strong relationship and all the hilarious memories we’ve shared. You are truly the most beautiful woman, inside and out, I’ve ever known. I love you!
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Molly Lansdowne, Contributing Editor
4 generations: with mom, grandma, and great grandma.
1) The best advice my mom has given me: Never marry a man who doesn’t love animals. As I grow older, I’ve learned that how a man perceives animals colors virtually every aspect of his personality–from how sensitive he is toward others to his core values.
…To all our beautiful, courageous, kind, loving, wise, strong moms, thank you and love you!
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