Lessons from my mother. Part 6.

Always aim high.  If you miss, you will still be among the stars.

Yes, that is my mother in the early 1930's, ready to throw the javelin.

She was always trying to do better.  Where she was at any certain time was not good enough.  She did not like the term status quo.  Part of that attitude came from her father.  Part from being raised in a big family where it was basically root hog or die.  I guess you get the idea.

Here are some lessons I have learned from my mother, the javelin thrower par excellence.

1.  If you can dream it, you can do it.  Going to college and no money available?  What do you do?  You take your savings, your one good dress, your few belongings, and move to Chicago during the Depression.  You find a family that needs someone to take care of their children.  You work for room and board.  You go to school. You work very hard.  And you graduate in the top of your class.

2.  Never settle for less than perfection.  Not really a winner here for me.  But after she made me tear out the seam that I had sewn in a skirt for the 19th time, I finally got the idea that it better be straight or it wasn't going to be any good at all.  As I have gotten older, I appreciate this striving for perfection more and more.
3.  There is never any sacrifice too great for your family.  She went to work while we were small.  Why?  So we would have enough money to go to college.  She gave up her home and friends and neighbors to move me into a situation where I could grow and have some chances I might not have anywhere else.  She had the uncanny ability to know when someone needed something.  Sometimes she could help.  Sometimes she couldn't.  But she was always there for us...through thick and thin.
4.  Always look for something bigger than you are.  Start a business.  Go on the road selling books, or toys, or silverware.  Never be satisfied with just getting by. 
5.  Live your life as if you were going to live forever.  Love what you are doing.  And always, always aim high.  When you get to your goal, keep on going.  Never stop.  Never ever stop.
And so I end this series of blogs about my mother.  She always loved us.  We loved her.  And I hope that one day people will say this of me too.  She aimed high.  She succeeded against great odds.  She loved and she was loved. 
I miss you Mom.  Thank you for the lessons you taught me.