Madame Heringer baby and Dona Alzira – December, 1982.
My mom is the most powerful woman that I know. You might argue that Oprah, Hillary Clinton or even Dilma Rousseff should be considered as strong contestants, but none of these women have had the impact that my mom had on my life!
Dona Alzira, today a 63-year-old woman, went through a lot in her life. She was raised on a coffee farm in a small town called Laranja da Terra in Brazil, but always dreamed of moving to the city and becoming a nurse. When she turned 21-years-old, she finally convinced my Granny to agree with her plans of moving to Rio de Janeiro. Since her uncle needed a reliable nanny to take care of his children, she volunteered to move in with his family to take care of his three kids during the day and go to nursing school at night.
After she graduated, she landed a job at one of the biggest hospitals in Rio and has been there ever since. It has been 35 years since my Mom entered Hospital da Lagoa’s doors for the first time! My childhood is filled with good memories of my mom as a nurse in action. I remember going to work with her and being always greeted by her patients and coworkers. I’ve never met anyone with more passion about their profession than my Mom. Even now, she says that she will only leave the hospital when she dies, and I believe her!
My Mom is a huge inspiration to me both as a professional and as a woman. She has always supported me in every single adventure. From drama classes to immigrating to Canada, she has always been there for me. I know, it is the type of thing that moms do for their children, but deep inside I know that sometimes it’s hard for her to cope with the distance and longing that motherhood has imposed on her.
Happy Mother’s Day, Dona Alzira!
I have one $60.00 gift certificate for lunch at Provence Marinaside, valid Monday- Friday from 11:30am to 3:00pm, that was generously offered by Chef Jean-Francis Quaglia to MadameHeringer.com. To enter this contest, leave a comment describing how your Mom’s teachings had an impact in your life. The best story will be chosen on May 21st at 3:00pm.
Provence Marinaside is a award-winning restaurant located at 1177 Marinaside Crescent, Vancouver, BC. Chef Jean-Francis along with his wife and chef Alessandra, are the authors of New World Provence: Modern French Cooking for Friends and Family
Update: Maria is our lucky winner! Maria, please check your inbox for pick up details.
Charlotte, Angela and Daniela, thank you very much for sharing your stories with me!
Hi ! my mom just had to be herself to teach the way I have to live my life. She´s warmhearted and outgoing. Her house is always open to her family, friends, and also to my own friends. She´s an awesome cooker so all family event are joyful ! For the love of my dad she went overseas, and lived several years in a new country without knowing the language of this new country. So now I wanna have an happy family too !!!
Since I was a small child, my mother used to bring flowers into the house, specially at the weekends. Her favorites were always the orchids. She had a kind of greenhouse in the yard, where she kept a collection of all kinds, all colors of orchids. She used to say that having flowers around could bring us closer to God. Now, living far from her, I always remember that, and never, ever forget to bring some flowers home on a Friday at the end of the day. I’m still not sure if I can feel God closer to me this way, but I definetly feel closer to my mom…
My mother wasn’t born here. She came her as a European immigrant when she was 34 years old. She didn’t know the english language but learnt it slowly. She is very religious and took us to church every sunday. Now that i am a mom i feel it’s important to teach my children a second language, our native tongue, like my mother taught us. Also i stopped going to church as i got older but thanks to my mother i never stopped believing in God. Just a few weeks ago i had my daughters First Communion. Everything that my mother taught us, all her good values and morals i am trying to instill in my children.
My mother raised us to be good honest hard working people. She is one of the nicest ladies that i have known. She goes out of her way to help others. She inspires me every single day. I try to stay true to who she raised me to be.