Something About Moms
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My heart sank when I got a text from my co-worker Dan Kraner that his mom had passed.
Immediately, I started thinking about all the things I had learned from this woman I had never even met — from teaching my children character and responsibility to relishing the simple things in life.
Bessie was a no-nonsense woman; a woman who remained resilient in tough situations. She had a passion for baking and canning. She didn’t seem to get stressed out or take life too seriously. She was my idea of a strong woman who taught her children to be the same.
I also felt a connection with her because she reminded me a lot of my grandmother, who had many of the same traits and also had roots in a rural community.
The unusual thing is that I seemed to know plenty about Dan’s mother though our paths had never crossed in the 10 years that I have known Dan. I didn’t even know her name until recently. She had always been “Dan’s mom.”
Dan, who is Indianapolis Woman’s art director, is not that much of a talker. Nor is he the sentimental type — except maybe when it comes to dogs.
Yet there’s something about mothers that will get us to open up, and Dan wasn’t an exception. He joined in our ritual of sharing childhood stories during lunch in the office kitchen.
It’s because of those sometimes hilarious stories and recollections that I’m feeling a loss for a woman I never knew personally.
As we start to celebrate another Mother’s Day, I’m reminded of all the incredible women who have played a role in shaping our lives, including those who are no longer with us, those who don’t necessarily fit the description of “mother,” and, perhaps, those we’ve never met.
May your celebration of motherhood this month be filled with many, many fond memories of the incredible women who have made a difference in your life.
