Richard’s Mom
My mom is no longer with us. She passed away in 1999 after a stroke.
My mother lived a life of constant struggle and challenges from life on a poor farm in Poland, to the family’s abandonment by her father, to widowhood and loss of her first born son, to forced labour by the Germans during WWII, to emigration to Canada in the later 1940’s with no knowledge of English. She struggled her whole life and these issues impacted her life, mentally and emotionally.Mom’s philosophy of life was that one should always give anything you do, second thought.
It is understandable that her philosophy of life was that one should always give everything second thought, as nothing lasts forever. Perhaps she was writing a motto for Polish boy scouts, “always be prepared for the worst,” such was her life of constant struggle.
I remember my mother as always underlining whatever I did in life with the words, “Don’t be too sure of yourself.” I think of her words as a positive strategy for living. Plan what you do and always give everything second thought. Her words reverberate soundly and today I think more and more how correct she was in her thinking.
Mom, you really were unbeatable !
