Happy Mother's Day!

This is a card I made for my mom, Dr. Barbara Allyn Cooper Fry. My mother is the most gentle, patient, giving Southern woman I know. Her family comes first, no matter what. The biggest thing my mom taught me was that we are all equal, no matter what our differences -social, religious, physical or racial, to name just a few. I value this lesson and try to live by it every day.
Mom was born in Loudoun County, Virginia during a time where there wasn't much diversity locally. Her parents were simple tennant farmers who decided they wanted more education for their children then they had received, so mom spent a lot of time studying at the kitchen table by oil lamp in addition to daily farm chores. She was able to attend college by working her way through on-campus jobs and returned to the Loudoun area to pursue her dream of teaching in the local school system. It was here that she met her soon-to-be husband, my father Roy A. Fry, who was also an educator. My parents moved to Fairfax County, Virginia to take advantage of the high-quality schools and to begin their own family. It was in Fairfax, growing up with children from different ethnic backgrounds that I began to learn my mother's valuable life lesson of equality. It was in the way she treated everyone alike-with respect, no matter who they were. And believe me, I had some extremely different type friends! When I was a teen, I attended one of my mom's PTA meetings where she was the elementary principal. She had to make some tough decisions regarding a school matter, and some parents were very angry and disrespectful. My mom never raised her voice back to these adults. She showed so much restraint that eventually everyone calmed down and listened to her reasoning. Once we were home I marveled at how she didn't lose her temper or hold ill will against the parents. She told me that everyone deserved to be treated with respect, equally, even the angry ones! This was just one of the many ways my mom showed me that I should treat everyone the same-no matter what their differences. I hope to instill this same value in my own children and eventually they will pass the lesson to their children.
thank you, mom, for everything.
love ya~L