Connect What is the most rewarding part of being a mom?

Watching each boy evolve into his own person, discover his gifts and implement some of the lessons I instilled throughout the years such as work ethic, boundaries, respect for others, resilience and tenacity. I am just so appreciative to be part of each one of their journeys.

What is the biggest lesson motherhood has taught you?

Being a mom is about planting seeds and it is a lifetime process. Seeds I planted many years ago have come to germinate such as teamwork, laundry and kindness. Seeds I didn’t know I was planting (ie work ethic and resilience) sprouted and I can see the impact. And I can and do continue to plant seeds even in their adulthood. In this adulthood era the conversations change and deepen but I can still offer some seeds of wisdom or challenge their perspective so that they continue to blossom.

What would you do with $20,000?

We have never had a family vacation. We have had plenty of road trips for college visits and lots of travel for football, basketball, track and baseball (thousands of km) but never just fly and flop. Now that some of the boys live far away, being all together gets harder and harder. Sometimes it is just 24 hours in a year. I would like to be able to take everyone on a family vacation to a beach resort. The vacation prize is for 4 so the $20,000 will be used to bring the rest of the family.