She wasn’t very big but she had huge dreams!
Her dream? Going to university and having a career. A typical dream for a young woman, in 2021.
It was the 1930’s, before it was fashionable for young women to go to university and have a career. The other things working against living her dream: born with a slightly deformed foot; one leg shorter than the other; at the age of 2, she contracted polio; wore braces on her legs and walked with crutches for most of her childhood.
Determined, she had discarded the crutches and braces by age 12. Told repeatedly that she would eventually end up in a wheelchair, she began to prove the gloom and doom folks all wrong!
In this day and age, we’d say she had an “attitude”! As a woman ahead of her time, she wasn’t about to give up her “attitude”!
As part of the application process for university, she had a physical. After being examined, the doctor looked her straight in the eye and said, “Don’t go to university!”
“Why not?” she said.
“I’ve been your doctor your entire life. In my opinion, you should go to business school and learn a skill that will allow you to sit down. Believe it or not, within 3 years you will be in a wheelchair for the rest of your life!”
In those days, most people didn’t question, ask for a second opinion, or defy the doctor’s conventional wisdom. Her “attitude” supported her response. Putting her hands on her hips, looking him straight in the eye, she said, “You’ve told me about that wheelchair for years. If I’m going to be in a wheelchair in 3 years, you better order it now. Because I want a red one!”
Today you can order wheelchairs in any color you want.
In the 1930’s, a red wheelchair was a myth.
Walking out of his office, she enrolled in university, graduated in 4 years, with honors, thank you very much, and began working with young people in California. As part of her responsibilities, she ran camps at Lake Tahoe every summer. For 5 years she hiked all over the mountains with those campers.
At the end of those 5 years, she met and married a widower who had 4 teenage children. She helped him raise those kids; a few years later, against all physical odds, she had a baby; within a few more years they adopted another child.
When she was 95, my mother finally got her wheelchair. Yes, it was red and . . . it was electric, which is an entirely different conversation! Additionally, she still had an “attitude”, always believing that no matter the circumstances or her age, she could continue to contribute. And she did!!
Growing up with a woman always ahead of her time, who managed to shine in whatever opportunities she had to serve, as “the preacher’s wife” and on her own. Never losing her “attitude”, she passed at age 101. Because of who she was and what she believed was possible for anyone and everyone, I grew up knowing I could do whatever I put my mind to. Going places I never dreamed possible, trying to provide value in whatever way I can serve others, providing sustainable influence by continuing to share my experiences with mom. Her story, values and beliefs provide guidance and support to me every single day. Her legacy continues.
Celebrate your role models and mentors as well as the abilities and expertise you share with others on this International Women’s Day and every day!
NOTE: Many of you will recognize this story, as I’ve told it many times from the stage and in print. In this time of COVID, various stages of isolation and restrictions, it’s a good reminder to me and hopefully to YOU. We can always make good things happen, regardless of the circumstances!
