Memories for February: She Celebrated Others!

It has been such a hectic day...and I really need to go to bed...but a short memory for tonight.

My mom had the unique and rare gift of being able to celebrate others and their accomplishments.  She was genuinely happy for others when something good happened to them.  She was so excited to share in others successes, whether they were big or small...I can remember her expressing this on so many occasions.

As I got older, this became even more intriguing and impressive to me.  She was always asking her friends about their children's accomplishments...and she was thrilled when they won championship games or passed a test or got a new job. She sincerely wanted to hear about others achievements...and she genuinely listened.  It didn't matter what the achievement was...whether you got new carpet in your bedroom or added a new flower bed to your front yard...my mom would be excited and happy for you.  What a rare and beautiful talent she possessed.

I remember just a few months after my mom passed away, I was in my first year of teaching fourth grade.  I received a phone call in the middle of the day informing me that I had won a prestigious teaching award.  Of course, I was ecstatic and flattered...but I sat in the teacher's workroom and held the telephone receiver (before cell phones!) in my hands long after the caller had hung up...and the tears flowed down my face.  I couldn't imagine how I could even be happy for this accomplishment when my greatest cheerleader in the world wasn't around to acknowledge my success.  Of course, I was surrounded by such a great support system...but I missed that one person because I could just picture how her face and her eyes would light up, and she would be so so so happy for me.

It is a very difficult skill to cultivate...the ability to be completely happy for the good that happens to someone else, without a thought for desires for your own situation.  It is something I am constantly working on...and something I am trying to teach my children.  I am so glad I got to experience first hand what it is to have someone truly celebrate others.

(My brother and I with Mom on her Valentine's birthday in 1982)