…The woman who started it all, she taught me everything that I know about being a mom. Some things I learned because she modeled them, some things I learned because I was reacting to her choices. She was a creature of the 60s and 70s, a feminist who (once whe was done breastfeeding me and then assisting in my montessori preschool) believed that she should work really really hard outside of the home. I was a latch key kid for years, but she also volunteered at the school, and was open and kind and was willing to negotiate for everything. She thought everything about me was awesome, even when I came home with a shaved head and a tattoo. She also really thought my parenting style was wonderful, even all the ways that it differed from hers. She was a champion of my unschooling, though she was a committed school teacher. She dreamed for a while of quitting and coming to ‘help’ me unschool her grandchildren, she just couldn’t make the leap.

The last 20 years of her life she taught the gifted program at various schools around her county. The students adored her and at her memorial service in February I got the chance to meet a lot of them. Many of them thought of her as a second mom and they’re a testament to the fact that she had more than enough love for kids. She is still missed greatly by me, my children, my brother, and my father, as well as all the other wonderful lives she touched and made that much greater.


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