A Gift From My Mother

I remember being a very inquisitive child. I have memories of pestering my mother with questions. My favorite questions began with "why". I remember she would get annoyed occasionally, but I also recall a time when she told me that although she sometimes got frustrated with my constant questions, she never wanted me to stop asking "why". She encouraged me to keep questioning and learning everything I could. I have no idea how old I was. My guess is I always somewhere around 6-8 years old.

I thought of that incident recently and it occurred to me what a courageous, inspired thing that was to say. She probably wanted to throttle me, but instead, she gave me the gift of encouragement. She taught me at a young age how valuable it could be to be curious. I now have a thirst for knowledge that lies at the core of who I am. I don't believe I owe that state of being entirely to my mother, but I don't know that it would be so ingrained in me if I hadn't been encouraged in my pursuit of knowledge at a very young age.

Thanks mom.