When Mothers Can Share Their Strengths
Posted by Jenna Hall on Friday, January 8, 2010
A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.” ~Tenneva Jordan
This year for the Conference of Leader’s I joined a small group at the United Communities Against Poverty Center (UCAP) in Prince George’s County, Maryland, for Service Day. This nonprofit provides a number of excellent services to struggling individuals in the community. This includes everything from counseling to educational services to emergency shelter. It most importantly serves as a safe-haven for women and their children. These are women who are trying to get on their feet following the loss of a job or other complicated issues.
Joining us that Sunday for her second year in a row with Share Our Strength was Latoya Middleton, an extraordinarily talented young lady with City Arts, an organization that empowers children through artistic expression. Though I was and am very impressed by her creative ability, her patience and her passion for art in the community, it was something unrelated to art that really caught my attention and admiration.
When we walked into the class we would be working in for the mural, I noticed a woman sitting down, off to the side and out of the “spotlight” of the front of the class that Latoya stood in to explain her idea for the mural we were about to paint. I remembered this woman from last year as Latoya’s mother. Just as the year before, she didn’t say much, she mostly watched and politely declined when we offered her water and lunch. What struck me the most was how content she seemed to be with just being near her daughter as she worked, offering occasional critiques or suggestions, but mostly watching with quiet pleasure. To me, it was the perfect example of what a mother is to so many children, the constant cheerleader, a source of support, whether they want it or not. There in the shelter made for women and their children was a model mother-daughter relationship.
When you see this it’s simple to understand why Latoya is such a talented, friendly and successful young woman. She seems to have benefited from the same strength and courage that so many children in this country enjoy, rich or poor. Mothers share their strength every day more than we even realize. And as the new year unfolds, there’s no doubt that if moms have anything to do with it, there will be pie for everyone.
January 8, 2010 | | Tags: childhood hunger, conference of leaders, new years
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