This Mother’s Day, three generations of mothers will gather at my childhood home, and the men will cook brunch in the tiny kitchen. In the living room, over the din of clanging dishes and possibly a smoke alarm, Mom is likely to say, “I wouldn’t trade my three daughters for a boatful of boys.”
And we three sisters will sit up a little straighter.
Mom has a way of inspiring us to take pride in ourselves and calling forth the best in us. While she has taught me much about life, this Mother’s Day I want to honor all the ways she influences me in business. I hope you find some gems.
Ada Traeger, the author's mother
Your troubles aren’t new
With nearly a century on the planet, Mom has seen most things before. Even during the pandemic shutdown, she recalled when her high school was closed because polio was spreading. She and her friend were thrilled to have a day off school and tried to go to the movies, but of course, the theater was closed too. Just ask her about political divides from bygone days. Does anyone else find this incredibly comforting?
Pressures are relative
Make soup from potato peelings. Extend the life of your shoes with cardboard for insoles. Rub the wallpaper flowers to get color to rouge your cheeks. Wear your aunt’s old fur coat to the interview so you don’t look like you need work. If you get the job, bind your breasts each day so you don’t attract unwanted male attention…. I’d choose today’s business pressures over those in the 1930s any day.
Get tough
I’m not sure if I was overly sensitive as a child, but Mom thought I needed to toughen up. She routinely sent me to play with the Linker Boys, a mob of delinquents who lived over the back fence and whose snowballs had rock centers. Sometimes things hurt but you don’t die, and you go on to play another day.
The show must go on
The story is that my middle sister was so shy she hid under the kitchen table when the doorbell rang, and ballet lessons cured her of the terrible affliction. This is how my mom became a big believer in dance lessons. For a kid who was cut from every sports team, dance class provided me an alternative path to learning confidence and teamwork. And aren’t the best business meetings partly performance art?
Learn the skills
I was about 11 when Mom decided I needed to get some marketable skills so someday I could be independent. At her direction, I put on my Easter dress and walked a mile to the senior center and asked to volunteer in the office so I could learn how to use a multi-line phone. While I was sitting in the waiting room, the office phone rang. The secretary had stepped away, so I answered it. After some strange looks, I was kindly told my volunteer position would be helping the seniors carry their meal trays. While this was not satisfying, I never forgot the importance of hands-on experience, even if I had to wait until I was older to get it.
Earning it is worth it
The jacket was rust-colored suede on the outside and fake fur on the inside, and I couldn’t live without it. Mom said if I wanted it, I’d have to earn the money. Did I have that kind of power? She taught me the answer is yes. The pure joy of having agency over my own situation, of having the ability to earn money and make my own decisions – it’s what keeps me going when I wonder if running a business is worth it. It is.
Know yourself
We now laugh about the many times I called home from college fearful I had chosen the wrong major. The only professionals we knew were teachers, nurses and people on T.V. My roommates were in finance, business and other practical fields that sounded clear, specific and stable. How would I make a living as a writer? She would simply remind me of who I am and say, “You’d never be happy as an accountant.”
Embrace new technology
I defy you to find someone who has embraced more varied technologies. She began with the installation of her parents’ first indoor toilet, an advancement for its time in the Portland neighborhood of Louisville. She eagerly pursued electric washers and dryers, microwave ovens, automatic car steering, central air conditioning – and eventually cell phones, the internet, email and Facebook. Today at 95, she is awakened each day by Alexa and pushes a button to dispense her pills. In that spirit, I’m always looking for ways technology can move our business processes forward.
Connect with other cultures
Mom’s white suburban neighborhood where she has lived since 1950 is becoming more diverse. I’m proud she’s working to evolve her attitude toward people who don’t look or act like her. She helped a Vietnamese neighbor study for her U.S. citizenship test. The grandmother in a family from Miramar spoke no English, but my mother tried valiantly and comically to communicate with her in elaborate pantomimes. More recently, a Congolese family moved in next door. When they butchered a large animal in the backyard on a tarp, she shrugged and said, “There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just different.”
Keep your sense of humor
I’m inspired to keep my humor during times of business stress when I see Mom keep hers amid the indignities of age. For a urine specimen, the nurse gave Mom a choice between using the typical bottle or a specimen pan that fits over the toilet, which is sometimes called a “hat.” The nurse asked flatly, “Would you like to pee in a bottle or a hat?” My mom deadpanned her response, “Well, I don’t know. Whose hat is it?”
Show up
From birthdays and graduations to concerts and ball games … she’s always been there. Nowadays, even when she’s not feeling her best or the pain in her back is getting her down, the answer is still yes. Lunch? Shopping? Driving across town to deliver a package? She’s in. Do I embrace my own opportunities as consistently? It’s something I aspire to.
Never stop learning
My mother had the courage to return to the workforce after a 25-year absence to raise children. She enrolled in a night class to brush up on her shorthand skills and signed up for library classes to learn about the new thing called a computer. After several years working temporary assignments and building her skills, in her sixties she became a well-respected executive assistant at a major healthcare facility. It’s never too late to go after a dream.
Have faith
Most important of all, my mother passed on to me the gift of faith in God. Faith sets my course each day and carries me through the most challenging times. I don’t know how anyone gets along in the world without it.
What’s more special than three generations of mothers celebrating this weekend? A fourth generation growing before our eyes. My daughter, Rebecca, is due on Mother’s Day to give birth to a girl who will be my mother’s 10th great-grandchild. I hope this new precious one arrives soon. My mom has a lot to teach her.
WordsFresh president Mary Pat Nimon (R) with her daughter Rebecca Reeves (L)
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This Mother’s Day, three generations of mothers will gather at my childhood home, and the men will cook brunch in the tiny kitchen. In the living room, over the din of clanging dishes and possibly a smoke alarm, Mom is likely to say, “I wouldn’t trade my three daughters for a boatful of boys.”
And we three sisters will sit up a little straighter.
Mom has a way of inspiring us to take pride in ourselves and calling forth the best in us. While she has taught me much about life, this Mother’s Day I want to honor all the ways she influences me in business. I hope you find some gems.
Your troubles aren’t new
With nearly a century on the planet, Mom has seen most things before. Even during the pandemic shutdown, she recalled when her high school was closed because polio was spreading. She and her friend were thrilled to have a day off school and tried to go to the movies, but of course, the theater was closed too. Just ask her about political divides from bygone days. Does anyone else find this incredibly comforting?
Pressures are relative
Make soup from potato peelings. Extend the life of your shoes with cardboard for insoles. Rub the wallpaper flowers to get color to rouge your cheeks. Wear your aunt’s old fur coat to the interview so you don’t look like you need work. If you get the job, bind your breasts each day so you don’t attract unwanted male attention…. I’d choose today’s business pressures over those in the 1930s any day.
Get tough
I’m not sure if I was overly sensitive as a child, but Mom thought I needed to toughen up. She routinely sent me to play with the Linker Boys, a mob of delinquents who lived over the back fence and whose snowballs had rock centers. Sometimes things hurt but you don’t die, and you go on to play another day.
The show must go on
The story is that my middle sister was so shy she hid under the kitchen table when the doorbell rang, and ballet lessons cured her of the terrible affliction. This is how my mom became a big believer in dance lessons. For a kid who was cut from every sports team, dance class provided me an alternative path to learning confidence and teamwork. And aren’t the best business meetings partly performance art?
Learn the skills
I was about 11 when Mom decided I needed to get some marketable skills so someday I could be independent. At her direction, I put on my Easter dress and walked a mile to the senior center and asked to volunteer in the office so I could learn how to use a multi-line phone. While I was sitting in the waiting room, the office phone rang. The secretary had stepped away, so I answered it. After some strange looks, I was kindly told my volunteer position would be helping the seniors carry their meal trays. While this was not satisfying, I never forgot the importance of hands-on experience, even if I had to wait until I was older to get it.
Earning it is worth it
The jacket was rust-colored suede on the outside and fake fur on the inside, and I couldn’t live without it. Mom said if I wanted it, I’d have to earn the money. Did I have that kind of power? She taught me the answer is yes. The pure joy of having agency over my own situation, of having the ability to earn money and make my own decisions – it’s what keeps me going when I wonder if running a business is worth it. It is.
Know yourself
We now laugh about the many times I called home from college fearful I had chosen the wrong major. The only professionals we knew were teachers, nurses and people on T.V. My roommates were in finance, business and other practical fields that sounded clear, specific and stable. How would I make a living as a writer? She would simply remind me of who I am and say, “You’d never be happy as an accountant.”
Embrace new technology
I defy you to find someone who has embraced more varied technologies. She began with the installation of her parents’ first indoor toilet, an advancement for its time in the Portland neighborhood of Louisville. She eagerly pursued electric washers and dryers, microwave ovens, automatic car steering, central air conditioning – and eventually cell phones, the internet, email and Facebook. Today at 95, she is awakened each day by Alexa and pushes a button to dispense her pills. In that spirit, I’m always looking for ways technology can move our business processes forward.
Connect with other cultures
Mom’s white suburban neighborhood where she has lived since 1950 is becoming more diverse. I’m proud she’s working to evolve her attitude toward people who don’t look or act like her. She helped a Vietnamese neighbor study for her U.S. citizenship test. The grandmother in a family from Miramar spoke no English, but my mother tried valiantly and comically to communicate with her in elaborate pantomimes. More recently, a Congolese family moved in next door. When they butchered a large animal in the backyard on a tarp, she shrugged and said, “There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just different.”
Keep your sense of humor
I’m inspired to keep my humor during times of business stress when I see Mom keep hers amid the indignities of age. For a urine specimen, the nurse gave Mom a choice between using the typical bottle or a specimen pan that fits over the toilet, which is sometimes called a “hat.” The nurse asked flatly, “Would you like to pee in a bottle or a hat?” My mom deadpanned her response, “Well, I don’t know. Whose hat is it?”
Show up
From birthdays and graduations to concerts and ball games … she’s always been there. Nowadays, even when she’s not feeling her best or the pain in her back is getting her down, the answer is still yes. Lunch? Shopping? Driving across town to deliver a package? She’s in. Do I embrace my own opportunities as consistently? It’s something I aspire to.
Never stop learning
My mother had the courage to return to the workforce after a 25-year absence to raise children. She enrolled in a night class to brush up on her shorthand skills and signed up for library classes to learn about the new thing called a computer. After several years working temporary assignments and building her skills, in her sixties she became a well-respected executive assistant at a major healthcare facility. It’s never too late to go after a dream.
Have faith
Most important of all, my mother passed on to me the gift of faith in God. Faith sets my course each day and carries me through the most challenging times. I don’t know how anyone gets along in the world without it.
What’s more special than three generations of mothers celebrating this weekend? A fourth generation growing before our eyes. My daughter, Rebecca, is due on Mother’s Day to give birth to a girl who will be my mother’s 10th great-grandchild. I hope this new precious one arrives soon. My mom has a lot to teach her.
