In Memory of Mom

Remembering How I Became 
a Teacher

My mom, Jo Ann Drinkwater Young, died of colon cancer this month seventeen years ago.  She was only 61.

Her death caused me to live life with more urgency, intention, and love.

Last week, a family friend sent some photos of her as a teenager that I had not seen before.  She is posing with her best friend, Leotta, shortly before Leotta's wedding.  Mom was seventeen or eighteen years old. 

Even dolled up as the bridesmaid (blue dress on right), she still looks so very young.

She married at eighteen, had four kids by the time she was 24 years old, was always a loving and supportive spouse, and gave me a very happy childhood. Despite her youthful commitment to family, she had an old soul, even as a young mother.

To say I miss her is an understatement. To say that her death released an energy in me to live the life I wanted would be deeply true.  

As many of you know, I am celebrating my silver jubilee birthday (60th) celebration this year. I am mindful that at the same age, my mom already carried the cancer that would kill her.