There’s a picture that hangs in my parents’ dining room. It’s a red and yellow patchwork quilt in a modest wood frame. The words are simple and stitched by hand. They are from our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. “All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”
I, too, owe much to my mother, including my love for presidential history. She was 14-years-old in November of 1963, when her mother and father gathered their children into their Ford Fairlane and made the long drive from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Washington, D.C., to attend the public memorial service for John F. Kennedy. She explained that her love of history came from that experience with her parents, and it was a love she passed on to me.
Over the past four months, I have had the opportunity to learn from the presidencies and leadership of four of our nation’s leaders — Lyndon Johnson, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush — as part of the Presidential Leadership Scholars (PLS) Program. It’s an experience that has allowed me to study at four presidential libraries and learn directly from two former presidents, an experience I hope I can also pass on to others.
When I think about it, that journey started with a promise I made to my mother 28 years ago. I was 21 and had the opportunity to travel and work abroad alongside my sister, Stephanie. That journey would take me to Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, France, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands and across North America. It would provide me with experiences, friendships and perspectives that have shaped who I am today. Mostly, though, it reinforced the values instilled in me by my mother and my love for Fergus Falls. It would also come at the expense of a college education. “Don’t worry, Mom,” I told her. “I will finish college.”
My mom wanted to be a school teacher but never finished college. Instead, she became a mother to me and my three sisters. She taught us the value of volunteering, the weight of kind words and the beauty of caring for those less fortunate. She was our teacher, and she was our example.
While studying in the PLS program, I discovered something Lyndon Johnson wrote while in college. “What you accomplish in life depends almost completely on what you make yourself do ...” While the words belong to LBJ, I can almost hear my mother speaking them. In 2018, I went back to college and graduated with my undergraduate degree in May of 2020. I went on to study political science in the graduate program at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute. It was a lifelong dream for me and my mother, ultimately leading me to apply to the Presidential Scholars Program.
A few weeks ago, I traveled to the George W. Bush Library in Dallas, Texas. I was excited about the trip but anxious to leave my mother, who was in the hospital. On my last night in Dallas, I had dinner with President Bush. He told me stories about his mom and Billy Graham. I told him stories about my mom and Doug Dent. He described the behind-the-scenes details of throwing out the first pitch at game three of the 2001 World Series in New York, shortly after the attacks of 9/11. Watching him throw a strike as Yankee Stadium erupted in chants of “USA, USA” is one of my favorite memories of both sports and politics. I vividly remember watching the moment with my mom on her tiny kitchen television 23 years ago.
Later that night, I wrote my mom a letter from my hotel room. I told her about my conversation with President Bush and the big things others in my cohort were working on. But mostly, I just wanted to write her to express how thankful I was that she was my mother.
My mom died last week, and I miss her dearly. I miss the bond that can only exist between a mother and a child. There are many ways to get an education: college, work or travel, to name just a few; but I am most grateful for the lessons my first and greatest teacher taught me.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom, and to all the mothers and teachers out there!
