A PIECE FOR MY MOTHER
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Honor thy mother.
> > > > > Honor thy mother.
I don’t know where the gifts came from, but I know the gifts are a part of me and I came from my mother. She did not always understand the gifts and neither did I. Even to this day she does not fully understand. But as I gained more understanding of myself, and how the talents I was blessed with shaped the way I understood the world, I used them to show her this part of me in the hopes that she would be able to understand a part of herself.
I do not come from a family of artists. I do not know where these artistic inclinations come from.
My mother can not draw. She can not paint. You will not find her doodling, writing poetry, or doing arts and crafts. She enjoys a museum/art gallery or two, but the furthest she will normally go in creative exploration is some interior decoration and reminiscing on being in the church choir back in Tuskegee as a little girl.
My mother’s real passion is people and their problems. She can walk into a room and within 15 minutes she has found someone, learned their whole life story, and figured out a way in which she can help them better their lives or get out of a bind. And she has been this way for as long as I can remember.
In 1997 my mother graduated from law school and gave birth to me very shortly after. In the 28 years since (at the time of writing), I’ve watched her grow and develop in her career as an attorney and watched as she fought for justice for workers throughout the country and even overseas. I’ve seen her sacrifice blood, sweat, tears, time, and money for people time and time again in the pursuit of fairness for the common man.
Ironically, it took me a while to understand what my mother did. We all have preconceived notions of what law is and how lawyers can be. Hell, even my mother agrees with some of the stereotypes. She herself was partially inspired by tapings of courtroom dramas of the 50s and 60s to become a lawyer. However, as I got older and lived more life and saw the state of the world, I gained more clarity as to what my mother was working so hard for and what it meant to her. Why we have to strive for fairness and equality when the deck is stacked against you. Why you must connect with the people in the communities around you when the world deals you a bad hand. Why there needs to be someone who can ride for you when the house has decided to stop caring.
With this piece (my largest one and my first one in almost a year, mind you), I wanted to honor my mother for her commitment to answering the call in the way she knows best: by understanding people. And to show her that with my gifts, the apple does not fall too far from the tree.
Thank you, Mom.
