When I look back over all of the things I learned from my Mom, I start to see how much of who I am today is a direct result of the beliefs she instilled in me. My earliest memories are of Mom encouraging my independence. Don’t get me wrong, she cherished me. I know this because every day after preschool and kindergarten she would pull me into her lap and say, “How was little day?” She wanted to hear all about it. But, at the same time, it was MY day and she wanted to know what I thought about it. When I would bug her endlessly to let me have a friend come over to play or to go to someone’s house, she would say, “Cindy, if you are not comfortable spending time with yourself, no one else will want to either.” She wanted me to be comfortable in my aloneness without being lonely. Her belief in the importance of being alone from time to time coincided perfectly with another value she had- reading. After reminding me about the importance of being comfortable with myself, she’d hand me a book and say something about how many lives I could live if I were willing to become a reader. She encouraged my education, but she never nagged me about it. I don’t remember my mom ever once asking whether I had done my homework. When I asked her about this a few years ago, she said, “Well, it was YOUR homework, not mine.” And, as many of you know, I proceeded to stay in school until the age of 30 and have since managed to make a career out of research and education, so her method of instilling internal motivation was clearly effective. Mom has been gone for a year today. I saw this picture of her and my daughter this morning, and it caused me to reflect on some of the values B would want me to instill in Margaux. I’m pretty sure she would think we are off to a good start.