Building girls of courage

"A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie."

I love that quote, because it completely embodies the very being of my mother--- selflessness.

I'm chairing an upcoming fundraiser for Girl Scouts, and the Girl Scout Council is going to present an award to one of our local Girl Scout leaders that will enable her to purchase supplies at no cost. They have named the award after my own Girl Scout leader -- my mother; the Julia Jackson Leader Scholarship.

In order for it to be awarded, they have asked me to come up with a sort of application for potential recipients to complete and to list the characteristics of Mother that would also embody the true meaning of Girl Scouting.

If you visit the website https://www.girlscouts.org/, you'll see the mission: "Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place."

Without a doubt, my mother instilled in me a sense of courage:

• Right from the "get-go," my name gave me courage (although, it's not my mom that named me; it was my father's choice). Back in the day, with a name like Sydney you needed courage to go to school on the first day. That's back when you'd learn what classroom you were in only as you arrived on that first day. There were lists of names posted to the classroom doors -- lists of boys and lists of girls. I was ALWAYS on the boys' list. Terribly embarrassing, but I survived.
• When I was just five, I danced at my recital and fell on my face, only to get back up and continue dancing.
• I auditioned for every school or church play, even though I rarely got the part I had hoped for.
• I wore socks to school until seventh-grade. (trust me, that took courage) Back in the dark ages, girls wore socks only until sixth-grade, but my mother made me wear them until seventh. AND, she wouldn't let me shave my legs until eighth-grade. Ugh!

Those things might seem minor today, but not so much when you're a young, impressionable girl wishing to be popular.

• In all seriousness, when it came time for me to make a life-altering decision while I was in high-school, I had learned from my parents just how essential an ingredient like courage is. As I once read, "Courage is what propels us to reach new milestones, even though the effort might be painful."  The courage to do what I did remains the most painful decision I've ever made, but it was the right thing.
• Although I still struggle to make it through my days without the physical presence of my mother, it is her example of true courage after my father passed away that leads me on my path.

My mother believed in me, which helped give me the confidence to get up every morning and face the day with courage. I don't remember ever hearing her say, "You can't do that," unless, of course, I was doing something I shouldn't have been doing. Mother was, and still is, my number one cheerleader.

My mother's character never wavered; always true to her family and true to herself. She was the single most honest, loving, caring, giving and God loving woman I have ever known -- and likely ever will know (and I wish she could come home).

And did she ever make this world a better place!
Her children are all productive members of society, good parents, some are good grand-parents, loving and willing to help others when possible.

Although selflessness is not listed in the Girl Scout mission, those are the characteristics I will look for in the recipient of the inaugural Julia Jackson Leader Scholarship, and I know Mother will be beaming down on the recipient as that woman leads her girls to new heights.