Who's Your Role Mommy?

This one's for my Mommy readers and those that will one day be Moms. Not too long ago, I was introduced to RoleMommy.com and I quickly became a fan. One of the co-founders of rolemommy.com, Beth, came across my Right Way post and left an interesting comment leading me to check out the site. Anyway, this week, I was reading her post on iVillage about her real life role mommies. It got me thinking about the women in my life that serve as my Role Mommies. Whether they realize it or not, they have had a major impact on how I've gone on in life as a wife, mother and professional.

My mom. I grew up watching my mom who has an unbelievable work ethic, work her way up in the fast-food industry. Starting as an hourly cashier (mind you, neither one of my parents hold college degrees) - she quickly promoted through the managerial ranks, and eventually went on to become a franchise owner of two stores. What always amazed me about her though, was that she kept our household running without a hitch. My brother and I never lacked having her around when we needed her - she made sporting events, dance recitals, school award ceremonies. Her drive and determination to continue growing professionally, while encouraging my brother and I to reach our heights no matter what it was we were doing is what shaped me into who I am today. She is a strong, strong woman, I can only hope that she passed a few ounces of it down to me.

My college co-operative job mentor - Barbara. At the time, she was the Corporate Secretary/Investor Relations Director for Mohawk Industries. She is an intelligent, graceful, educated mother of three. I learned so much from her in the three years that I worked with her - from how to complete SEC financial statements to the value of collecting Christmas china. How to hold my own as a female in a male-dominated industry (kind of a necessity for female engineers) to always, always send thank you notes to people for kind gestures they have extended - I even keep notes always handy in my desk at work, just as she did, so there is never an excuse. Balance. She had it down to a fine art. I looked up to her then and I still look up to her.

Who is your Role Mommy? I'd love to hear about her.