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My Mom WL joins Christine and Nancy Pelosi, Elliot Stephanopoulos and Ali Wentworth, and Marlene Malek and Michelle du Pont for a well-deserved tribute to mom.
Nancy Pelosi BY CHRISTINE PELOSI As Mother's Day approaches, I will ask my Mom what she wants, and she will answer as she has my whole life: "good behavior." When we were growing up, good behavior seemed the logical request for a spirited family. My parents had five children in six years and one week, meaning that my Mom was pregnant for most of the 1960's. When we were young, she dressed us alike so she could pick us out in crowds: identical skirts for the four girls with the color-coordinated pants for my brother. I'm sure it was all those matching outfits - plus years of Catholic school uniforms - that led us to develop distinctly individual styles as soon as we were able to dress independently. My earliest memories of my mom were of her multi-tasking - preparing dinner while checking on homework and housework; clearing the dinner plates while setting out bowls for breakfast; making sure we ate our breakfast while lining up bread, lunch meats, apples, and snacks assembly-line style so we could make our lunches. To this day, we rarely finish eating one meal without planning the next. In addition to the pigtails she braided, uniforms she pressed, meals she prepared and carpools she drove in, it was my mom's little sayings from my childhood that echo through the years. In church, we listened to the homily; at home, it's what I call the "momily." On homework: "Proper preparation prevents poor performance." On criticism of others: "Worry about your own self. Don't be a 'Miss/Mr. Make-Matters-Worse.'" On tears: "You play rough, you get hurt. [Or], if you throw a punch, be prepared to take a punch." On getting along with people with whom you disagree; "Keep the friendship in your voice." On motivation: "You can do it - it's just a decision." Most of all, my Mom gave my siblings and me a sense of faith, family and friendship. And in return on this Mother's Day, I will be sure to give her that good behavior she's always wanted.
Marlene Malek BY MICHELLE DU PONT By the age of nine, I was too cool to hold my mother's hand, so I held her finger. I held her finger through the grocery store, the drug store and through life. I'm still holding her finger.My mother has made the world a better place to be. As president of Friends of Cancer Research, she has helped fight the global war against cancer. She was a 2005 "Washingtonian of the Year" for her work promoting cancer research, which includes serving on the boards of the Duke Cancer Center, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and the President's Advisory Panel on Cancer Research. She is vice chairman of the Board of trustees of Marymount University, where she attended nursing school when my brother and I were younger. Yet, at the end of the day, she wants to hear about my latest jewelry collection, Olivia's soccer game or Scarlett's latest word. My mother is also an amazing artist. She is a beautiful painter, yet she doesn't display her works, so, they hang in my house. My mother's gifts to the world, however, don't compare to the gifts she has given me and my daughters; unconditional love, kindness, generosity, spirituality, humor and fun. She has been my greatest advocate when I faced illness, been in the room for the birth of both my children, and has let me hold her finger through every up and down life has offered. Thank you mom for dancing so hard at my wedding that you hurt your back. Thank you for laughing the loudest at my jokes. Thank you for spoiling my daughters and then telling me I need to discipline them more. Thank you for letting me pull the wool over your eyes some of the time but not all of the time. (I too can now tell the difference between an allergic reaction and beard burn.) Thank you for being my mom.
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