Although my mother raised two very strong, independent, feminist daughters, I never heard my mother rail against the patriarchy or complain about misogyny. In fact, she would have never described herself as a feminist at all (I think she viewed “feminism” as braless women in the 60’s). 

 

Her brand of feminism was to steadily create an armor for her daughters, making us impervious to messages of what women should or shouldn’t be, empowering us to be fully and unapologetically ourselves. 

 

My mom was a teacher, and growing up, she turned our world into a classroom. From an early age, she taught my sister and I to love the outdoors and to approach the world with curiosity and excitement. My earliest memories are splashing through tidepools and poking at sea anemones.  When hiking and camping, I loved turning over large rocks to see the world of insects, worms and fungus, living beneath. As a result, my sister and I approach life with deep curiosity. 

 

When the show Friends first aired, my Mom would have preferred her teenage daughters watch Pride and Prejudice. But rather than ban Friends, she watched with us. During the commercials she asked us about the choices the characters made: “Yes, it was funny, but did Chandler treat that woman with respect?” she asked. “Rachel told Ross to go away, so is it appropriate for him to hide and spy on her?” Although this workshop-style viewing made Friends significantly less funny, my mom transformed my sister and I into critical thinkers -- incapable of passively absorbing messages being thrown at us about our self-worth, identity or what it means to be a woman. 

 

Running for Congress is a never-ending exercise in people telling you who you are, who you aren’t and who you should be. The double standards and extra hurdles thrown up for women are blatantly obvious. And the constant drumbeat from Kiley asserting that there must be a man pulling the strings of my campaign, is amusing because he clearly can’t accept that a woman just out-fundraised him.  

 

And believe me, there are moments when I wish I could sit down with my mom and sort through the onslaught together. But as much as I miss her, I am not without her. This campaign is succeeding because of the foundation of strength, grace, and unconditional love she gave me. 

 

Happy Mother’s Day Mom. I miss you every day. And I’m doing my best to keep your love rippling through the world.  

 

Jessica