Great Women Raise Great Women Who Raise Great Women

I am 14 years old and my mother walks into my room after coming home from work. As soon I see the door whip open I instantly recall all the chores she asked me to do before she got home and check them off in my head that they are done; my room is clean, homework done, bathroom clean, no dishes in the sink, meat is out the freezer and I am reading a book. She should be very happy when she sees me. But she doesn't look happy...she looks like she is about to chew me up and spit me out alive and tell me to do everything all over again. Dang, what did I forget?

"Christina, where is your sister?"

"Shower."

She walks out my room and bangs on the bathroom door. Dang, what did we do?!? I know that my sister knows it's my mom by that bang because she doesn't comment on how loud it was. My mom shouts to her that she needs to come out because she has to talk to us. What did we do? The shower instantly shuts off and my sister exits the bathroom, did she even dry? I wouldn't have either. She comes into the room sits on the bed and I finally sit up and put my book down. My mom is standing in front of us.

"Girls, as I was waiting for the train to come home something happened that I must share..."

If anyone else was in the room you would witness my sister and I visibly relax. We did nothing. Here is another mom story to prepare us for the world. My family is NYC natives so my mom has prepare the world stories for us almost everyday. She never holds back on details because the world will not hold back from us. She is raising three girls alone and preparing us for the world is very important to her.

"...I noticed a man walking back and forth with a long coat. I got eerie feelings about him so I took my pocket knife out my purse and held it in my hand. I keep watching him because you should always watch the people around you especially those that don't stand still. He is across the platform tries to get close to another woman and she walks away abruptly. Now he is walking back in my direction with his jacket open. As he gets closer I notice he is naked so I open my pocket knife and tell him if he gets any closer he will lose a body part. He runs up the stairs and leaves."

Now our mouths are open. My mom don't play.

"If anything like that ever happens to any one of you, you cannot show you're scared. You have to show you are crazier than them so they know not to mess with you. Remember keys in your hand when walking and on the train. Get your keys and show me how you would hold them."

Impromptu self defense lessons taught by my mother were normal in our house. I don't remember when these lessons started and that's because, at the time, I did not realize they were lessons. My sister and I thought them to be entertaining and were unaware of how much we were retaining from these spontaneous sessions. If my mom read an article in the newspaper on her way to work that she felt was important for us to know, she would call us after school to read it us. There was no waiting for the right time to give us these lessons because, for my mom, the right time is now.

This is just a portion of how my mom has taught us. When we came home from school and all throughout the summer when my mom worked, she would call us and instruct us over the phone on how to prepare and start dinner so when she got home all she had to do was finish it. A chart of chores was on the fridge that rotated all of our names throughout the days of the week so there was no fighting of who did what when.

"Rinse the meat in sink with water and lemon then season it with sazon, adobo, garlic, onion, black pepper, and a dash of paprika. Leave it to marinate, put the oven on 350 and I will call you back when to put it in."

Best believe she always called back.

As teenagers, these lessons are labeled as annoyances from a strict parent. As an adult, I label her a Boss Mom. She had the courage to give us what we needed no matter how hard that was. There are some things you cannot fully understand until you experience it yourself and truth is, you do not fully comprehend parenting until you become one yourself. Now as an adult, I comprehend all those lessons were exactly what I needed, and as a mother myself, I comprehend how hard it was as well. How courageous you must be to give your children their needs when majority of the time it is against their wants; to feel as if your child doesn't like you, forbid the thought they may not love you, but continue to provide them righteous guidance.

My mom's lessons were teaching me independence during a time I felt I was already independent. They were also teaching me to open my eyes and be aware of the world I was living in when I already thought I had it all figured out. Her lessons were shaping me into an independent woman who might one day become a mom of her own without me realizing a thing and fighting it the entire time. She was attempting to instill morals, values, and strength into a teenage girl in order to shape a strong, confident woman. She is a boss mom and am forever grateful for her perseverance in raising me. I am a strong, responsible, independent woman because of her. My resourcefulness is because of her prepare the world stories. She has prepared me to anticipate obstacles and handle them with style and grace. I have the skills to teach my children because of her; skills ranging from cooking to cleaning, to loving and guiding. She has created her own line of boss women and I am extremely proud of who I am because of her.