could save me that day. I was dragged to my friend’s house for us to apologize to each other and warned never to fight again. The stone and the grass had not worked, but my mother’s love in correction, the lesson of timeliness, living with one another in peace, learning to walk away when angry—and more—have never left me. Freddie is still a very good friend! As I grew older, I came to appreciate her goal of being strict. I now see a teacher who believed every child could learn in their own way, given reasonable guidance, opportunities, and culturally appropriate methods. My mother still teaches life lessons and supports people to achieve their greatest potential in diverse ways despite the generational gap—which she does not accept. “Yaa Yaa is still a girl—16 years,” she would say. I also see a courageous mother who expected me to develop beyond boundaries. Her strictness was a form of protection, her enduring love, and her discipline—an inheritance for which I am eternally grateful. I always find her voice in mine and her tough love in my daily life when I speak to my own children, students, and colleagues. Sometimes, I feel a little bit of that is my father’s influence too, though he didn’t live long enough for me to know his responses to situations in adulthood. In many ways, I am As I grew older, I came to appreciate her goal of being strict. I now see a teacher who believed every child could learn in their own way, given reasonable guidance, opportunities, and culturally appropriate methods. “ The Birthday Journal 67
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTAyMTM3NQ==