Do you remember playing dress up as a little girl, trying on your mommy’s high heel and asking, “Will these pretty shoes ever fit me, mamma?”
Without hesitation, your mom replied, “One day those high heels will fit just fine.”
Moms have a way of instilling high hopes into their daughters' hearts. They pass down to their daughters more than just a pair of pretty high heels. They pass their beliefs, fashion tips, recipes, character traits, wisdom and, most importantly, their love.
Part of being a mom is teaching your child to fly then to let go and watch them soar like an eagle. Another part is becoming their best friend, while still being a mom. My mom did just that.
“Unstoppable” is my mom’s middle name. At almost 91, she lives her life fully alive; nothing stops her. She still drives all around Aiken by herself and plays bridge every day.
She has overcome illness. She has faced bladder cancer, carotid artery blockage, high blood pressure and a broken shoulder.
When a physician error caused her to have major surgery on her bladder surgery facing weeks in the hospital, she was forgiving. When her weekend get away with the girlfriends ended in a freak accident resulting in shattering her shoulder, she persevered.
She reluctantly agreed not to walk up stairs in her high heel again or at least around her friends. She embraced PT miraculously regained use of her arm even thought she had never done a workout in her life. After all, that arm was needed to hold her bridge cards.
My mom is no stranger to suffering. She willing moved every year to appease my dad’s career decisions, single-handedly packing up the home, the children and her life and moving on with excitement in new beginnings.
She courageously accepted a pregnancy at age 44, just when she was seeing the light at the end of the carpool lane.
When retirement took her out of her comfort zone from the Midwest to the Deep South, she re-invented herself, becoming an entrepreneur. She went from changing diapers and washing dishes to changing lives.
She became a statement of how you can do and be whatever you want to be, if you put your mind to it. With a mother’s heart, she chooses a second career where she would still be available to her youngest child.
As my dad slowed down with frequent health problems, Mom found a new skip in step. She bought Wisteria Manor in Aiken and became both a caterer and a legion.
Mom is an old-fashioned gal with a modern voice. She is not afraid to speak her mind. She is a voice of wisdom to those who will listen, my daily laugh on our morning phone calls, and an example to follow for those who suffer.
I applaud Mom as an unstoppable woman of valor who looks obstacles straight in the eye and never runs away. Those who know her want her to be their mom, too.
Some want her to write a book on how to grow old gracefully, while others just admire her spunk.
Perhaps it is because she is witty and wise, or because she is still quite the style setter – high heels and all – or because she is willing to sacrifice at her own expense, even if it is with a tear in her eye.
Maybe it is because, at almost 91 years old, she still has what it takes to be not only “Unstoppable Mom" but also “Unstoppable Woman."
With a strong drive and big heart, she has touched lives she will never be aware of. She can still can run to your aid in those high heels if you need her, because nothing is stopping her from being there for someone she loves.
My mom, Eleanor A. Manfred, deserves the title of the "Unstoppable Mom." Don’t you agree?
Ellen Mongan is a freelance writer and motivational speaker, who blogs for Elizabeth ministry international and is the founder of Little Pink Dress Ministry and Sisters in Christ. She speaks at moms clubs, churches, radio and on WBPI Television. She wrote for Charm on the Space Coast Magazine in Florida. She and her husband of 41 years, Deacon Patrick F. Mongan M.D., have seven adult children and 12 grandchildren.
