I still remember it as if it was just last week. My younger brother and I would get packed u p (we're talking the 80's ppl.) before the sunrise, and oftentimes didn't get to see our house again until the sunset. I can remember the smell, the feeling, the exhaustion all too well. I remember having to "help" when I didn't want to and didn't understand why I would even be asked to, but still would reluctantly comply.

A person who inspires you is someone who has done something so great that it motivates you to do something great too. Everyone has a specific woman in their life, who they look up to because of something they did or what they went through. One of such person in my life is my mom. My mom grew up in the country of Jamaica. During my childhood my mom would tell me stories of her childhood and how her family struggled and how she made it out of that.

You can always point out a new mom, just by looking in her eyes.

The woman I respect and admire most is my mother. A brief recollection of her background is my mother was born in a city called Lagos in Nigeria, and among 13 children her own Mum had, there was only two survivors, my mum and her older sister. From a young age, my mother has always been ambitious. She left Nigeria in the 50s to emigrate to the United Kingdom. My mother put herself through school and became a nurse. She met my father and had 6 children, which I am the last but also a twin, and all of us were girls. This, will not be accepted by the African culture, because boys do carry the family name. My mother was tricked back to Africa,selling all her belongings, her house,cars, and was deceived by her husband to deposit it into his account. On getting back to Nigeria, my mother’s suffering began. She was beaten, cheated on, and many cucumbines of my father and his family mocked her. My mother being a strong woman, focused on her work and children. While my father was busy with his adulterous lifestyle, even bearing three children out of wedlock, my mother was busy building a house, a business and a future for herself and her children. One day, my mother woke us all up in the night and we drove to our new house. Although the house built did not have a roof, we the children loved lying down peacefully and looking up to the moon and stars, relieved that we have left the abusive conditions. The house was built and finished while we lived there. My mother delved into work, opening a chemist and a farm which we bred chickens which eventually became a poultry and the main source of egg distribution in our area. My mother showed her kindness and generosity, by helping The villagers and anyone needing medical care, free of charge. At a young age of 5, we started learning and helping in cleaning wounds, assuring patients and helping with medications under the supervision of our mother. My mother worked really hard, and we as children helped. In 1982, one one fateful day, an uncle visited us to inform us about the death of my father, he died in a car crash which, one of his cuncumbines was in the car, her son, and one of my eldest sister, he was escaping with his girlfriend and their son, when he only met his untimely death. This affected my mother a great deal, but as we were young, we could not comprehend what was going on, but we knew that we had just lost our father, but we were never close to him to cry. My mother then decided it was time for all of us to leave the country as she saw our situation as vulnerable, and many people would like to take advantage of us. My mother sold her poultry and chemist, and bought all six children our ticket to freedom, back to the United Kingdom. Challenges in the UK was met by my fierce mother, and she brought all her girls up to work hard, have a good income to support ourselves and taught us to always stand for our rights, apologize if we are wrong, and to be kind and selfless to others. My mother shaped 4 of her children into the medical career, one of my sister became a doctor, another a pharmacist, and two of us became a nurses. My mother has always been an inspiration to me and continues to be, her selflessness, kindness and her non judgmental character has shaped me into the woman I am today. I have 5 children, and I am fortunate to have boys among my children. Now my mother is at a old age with grandchildren and great grandchildren, and the envy of the family who once cast her out and now her children are who they look up too for help and advice. My mother is a great inspiration to my generation, her generation, and other generations to come. Her hard work and prevalence paid well, and now my mother is still working hard to help people even at the age of 82, which I find admirable and I do have a lot of respect for my mother and what she has been through, her story is a survival story.

I was seven years old when my parents started losing track of their time. Or I should say, losing track of their time with me. Work was the priority.

Mama

The question ‘Should parents be allowed to smack their child?’ was recently posted on a popular social media site. A string of comments followed. The younger generation was against corporal punishment, the older generation saw nothing wrong with it.

Ramondae is an inspiration for all the mothers who stand in spite of their situations to make a way out of no way. For the strong mothers in my life that press on even when the odds are stacked against them.

MARY - Favored, Uplifting, and a Survivor is the lady that I have known all my life. She is the one who gave me and my sisters life. She has been a very important part to our family because she never gave up when the road got tough. She never gave up on us and she made sacrifices to assure that her girls made something of themselves. I grateful for the Powers to Be for giving us her as a mother each day. She wasn't perfect but she was faithful to her children and family. She was strict but loving. She is strong but gentle. She is funny and serious. She is a survivor of life's ups and downs and always finds a way to rejoice in the journey. She is about to celebrate 82 years of life on March 26 giving to those around her to make sure they were okay. When our father was away in Vietnam she held down the fort of taking care of 3 little girls and his aging parents. When dad came home he had a hard time holding down a job but mom made sure we never missed a beat. There was always food on the table and we had clothes on our back, roof over our heads and she made sure we were in school every day. It was only later in life that we had a better understand of her life when we were young and many wouldn't understand until they grow up and have children and have to make sacrifices. She was and is a precious to us.

The woman who has really inspired me, particularly once I became a mother myself and started to UNDERSTAND, you know, really GET, just how tough being a parent can be - is my mum. My mum is called Julie, and she's now nearly sixty, which I find astonishing as in my mind I'm still a little girl and she's still a young, pretty mother, with big, soulful green eyes, straight brown hair, and huge owl glasses. Standing approximately 4 feet 11 inches tall, yet with the strength and courage of a giant.