As the last article in my three part series, I wanted to write about my hero: my mother, Elizabeth. At this exact moment, I have a to do list that is WAY too long, stuff to do, places to be… yet I’m calm. I just got off the phone with my mom. I kept saying, “Ma, I’m tired. I know no one dies from doing homework, but I’m just tired.”
“I know, baby,” she said. “You can do this.”
And that was all I needed to hear. She calmed the storms of a college student heading into finals. How? She’s my mom… that’s how.
She attended New York University, majored in nursing, and is currently a school nurse at our local high school in Northern Virginia. One of her favorite parts of working in the nursing field is sharing her knowledge and experience to mentor nursing students.
She currently cares for a student population of over 2,400 students (and that’s not including the faculty that also need a nurse sometimes…). “I’ve always wanted to be a nurse — from my earliest recollection. I feel it was my calling, in addition to being a mother and a wife,” she said. “I care for people daily and have been made part of some of the most precious moments that life has to offer — I’ve ushered in new lives and cared for those as they departed this world.”
When I asked how nursing inspires other women, she answered, “I think that helping women understand thier own bodies and how they work is incredibly empowering.” Part of her job as a nurse is to educate people and encourage them to make the best life choices for themselves. “I’ve worked a lot with young families, babies and children…” She’s empowered people and helped raise the future by aiding them when they need it most.
One of the main life lessons my mother has taught me is that you CAN be a working woman AND be a fantastic mom. You don’t have to sacrifice one for the other. I have countless memories of playing with American Girl dolls, reading, and singing to Disney cassette tapes with her. At the same time, I remember the distinct smell of hand sanitizer and “nurse-smell” (yes, it’s a thing) when she would pick my brother and I up from daycare in her white lab coat.
Despite what she thinks sometimes, she is a fantastic mother. “I am not sure I could ever capture in words what being a mother has meant to me,” she said. “You get to watch your children grow… you start to see glimpses of the adults they will grow into. You get to see what amazing human beings that they have become.” She later said, “You get to know that they will impact their corner of the world for the better… and you had even the smallest part of that.”
What my mother — and most parents — sometimes don’t understand is how much they affect us. In my case, my parents have shaped the woman I have become for the better. I see bits and pieces of them daily in the way I speak and act. I wouldn’t be here at CNU, sitting on my dorm room bed without her (and.. you know.. shoutout to my dad). It is so important that women have role models and solid foundations in their lives. These people can change you for a lifetime. I am a CNU woman because of my mother and I will forever be immensely thankful.
Props to my mom (and all those other amazing ladies out there!) who can be a wife, mom, nurse, caretaker, shoulder to cry on, superhero… You get the idea.
So… the next time you come across one of your heroes, one of the women who have shaped you… THANK THEM! Let them know that they mean the world to you and encourage others to do the same. How amazing will it be when someone tells the same to you?
Come let us know who made you a CNU woman at our #cnuwomenare event! Tuesday 4/11 from 11:30-1:30!