OPINION
Our print date this week falls on an incredibly important date in my family.
That's my mom's birthday. As I grew up, my mother and I were practically inseparable because I was lucky enough to have her as a full-time caretaker.
My mother, who grew up in a musical family and was blessed with amazing musical talents herself in the form of singing and playing the piano and organ, taught me a love of music.
She also is the reason I grew up loving listening to and retelling stories, as she shared not only her own stories but also those of our family and close family friends.
My mom taught me to be confident when talking to strangers, a skill I use regularly for work and in everyday life, but she also taught me that it matters to care about what a person's response to 'How are you today?' is.
Because she made that second-nature for me, it still strikes me as odd when the other person either doesn't return the question or doesn't truly care to hear the answer.
My mother taught me the value of getting an education, which she learned firsthand after leaving college partway through and had to support our family when my father was deathly ill and bedridden with my five young siblings to care for. That lesson led directly to the career I love, which supported me through the rockiest part of my life and led me to meet and fall in love with my sweet husband. My mom also showed me and continues to show me, with the help of my dad, an example of unconditional love to and from your spouse that I have always been grateful for and am now experiencing myself. My mom also has an incredible eye for how to lay out a house design, despite never having formal training in that arena. I have her and my dad to thank, too, for investing in this newspaper and allowing us to keep chronicling the history of our area when they bought it in January of 2024.
I have so much to be grateful for thanks to my mom. Happy birthday, Mama, and many more.
ABIGAIL BARDWELL
