Busy Mom Chronicles: the Beauty of Passing the Baton

This Mother’s Day, I’m working with Clever Girls in support of Macy’s Heart of Haiti to shine a light on the “trade, not aid” program, which provides sustainable income to Haitian artisans struggling to rebuild their lives and support their families after the 2010 earthquake.

 

 

Next Friday, my firstborn child–the one who has been with me the longest–will be graduating from high school. Even as I type these words I still cannot believe it. Though it has truly been a long time coming, I can still remember the day that she was born and the joys and pains of her childhood.

 

Then: in kindergarten

 

The road of new motherhood was a rough one for me—mainly because I did not have the guidance and wisdom of my mom to help me along my journey due to her passing so very long ago. It did’t cause much of an impact during the early years of my daughter’s life, but as she grew into her teenage years, my struggles with parenting increased immensely. I learned a valuable lesson over time that it is very difficult to be a mother for longer than you had a mother. Nevertheless, I pressed through the lows and highs; determined to not focus on being a perfect mother, but simply being one that my daughter could be proud of.

 

Throughout my daughter’s upbringing, I wanted to be sure that I always honored my mother’s legacy, so I made the decision early on that I would dedicate myself to teaching her all of the lessons and values that I learned while growing up. And as I reflect on the past eighteen years and look at the person that she is today, I can say that I have achieved that.

 

To be quite honest, she has turned out to be far more than I ever hoped for her to be. She is strong, smart, talented and charming. And while those traits are wonderful, the ones that I admire of her the most are her confidence and fearlessness. She commands the utmost respect from everyone she comes in contact with and does not settle for anything less, and she is soundly sure of what she wants out of life. Oftentimes I stare at her in amazement, so much more proud of her being my daughter than I believe she’ll ever be of me being her mother.

 

Her entire life, she has always been such a huge inspiration to me. In fact, she is the one who inspired the creation of this blog!

 

Now: Meet Melisa!

 

When I take her to college in August and watch as she enters into the next chapter of her life, I know that I will ramble off many words of advice, yet I am quite sure that there will be a laundry-list of well-wishes that I will be far too emotional to remember to pass on to her. But I do know this: from the looks of it, she indeed has all of the characteristics and values of my mother—and my mother was a phenomenal woman.

 

I know without a doubt that her granddaughter will be phenomenal as well.

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Enjoy today’s Music Mondays selection(and special dedication), “My Wish” by Rascal Flats.

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Have a song that would be perfect for Music Mondays? Share with me below or tell me about it at: melisasource@yahoo.com.

 

 

 

Thank you to Macy’s Heart of Haiti for sponsoring my participation in this “Share Your Heart” promotion. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.

 

What is Macy’s Heart of Haiti? Heart of Haiti is a “Trade, Not Aid” initiative launched by artist and social entrepreneur, Willa Shalit, The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and Macy’s. Already, Heart of Haiti has led to employment of 750 artists in Haiti, providing financial benefits for an estimated 8,500 people in the country.

Each item is a one-of-a-kind design and handmade by a Haitian master artisan from raw materials such as recycled oil drums, wrought iron, papier-mâché and stone. The collection features more than 40 home decor items including quilts, metalwork, ceramics, jewelry and paintings and is made almost entirely from recycled and sustainable items such as old cement bags, cardboard, oil drums and local gommier wood.

Heart of Haiti products are available online at Macy’s.com.

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