Many people often say that the person they most look up to is their own mother.

I love and respect my mother because she has taught me so much that many of my friends’ mothers were not able to teach them…. precisely because my mother and father used to call us their grandchildren!

Yes my parents were of a completely different generation, we’re talkin the generation that still sang “God save our gracious Queen” generation. And although I know our country (Trinidad and Tobago) only gained Independence in 1962 for my parents to know that anthem so well means they sang it for years!

But I disgress!

The person I’m writing about today thanks to this wonderful blogging challenge that I’m in is a mother of 7, a wonderful wife to her husband and a woman of Faith, deeply in love with God.

When I first started my entrepreneurial journey which coincided with motherhood I was told….

“Find someone who has what you want, do what they did and you’ll get what they got!”

Tim Erway

So as a budding entrepreneur I went out in search of this person!

The interesting thing is in my mind I was looking for a business person to follow, my heart was searching for something different.

Around that time I had created a vision board….

I wanted to be a mother of a large family, work from home and homeschool my children!

Being a mother of a large family almost surely implied you’d have to homeschool them because you couldn’t possibly afford schooling (or should I say “good” schooling) for that many children. I also knew that I wanted to put my degrees to work, but not in the traditional sense.

So my heart knew exactly what I really wanted and went looking for this person. And you always know who to follow because your heart tells you so.

Her name Bernadette Chin Lee.

I remember sitting in her kitchen one day and one of her teenage children walked in with a friend. They were discussing a party and the pros and cons to going.

The got me off the bat! Teenagers discussing pros and cons of going to a party?!?!? I was intrigued.

The daughter of my friend laid out a strong argument to her friend why they should not go and rather to another activity instead, that way it couldn’t be said that they just “ditched” the party.

After pleasant greetings and goodbyes I turned to her mother and asked one question: “How do I raise a child like that?”

Her response, “Do you really want to know?”

I said yes!

You see I had found what I was looking for. Find someone who has what you want.

Above all things I wanted a big family, but I also wanted children who would become responsible, productive, faith-filled adults.

So I had done the first part. I found someone who had what I wanted.

And every day since then I’ve been learning and implementing, learning and implementing.

And truth is it’s hard. I now understand the meaning behind her first question, “Do you really want to know?”

Being a good parent is quite possibly the most difficult job you will ever have. It take sacrifice on your part, it takes teaching your children sacrifice, it takes loving them enough to allow them to fail so that they will learn, it takes giving up going to church on time so that they will learn to put their clothes in the right place the night before….. and the list can go on and on…

I found my mentor. This mother of 7 children, working from home and doing it all with a serene smile on her face.

It’s not easy being a working mother but the rewards are amazing.

We’re working on something together because I believe more moms need to truly learn how to raise responsible, productive and faith-filled adults.

It will be out soon, so connect with us, stay tuned and join my group!


Hilary
Hilary

Hilary De Freitas is a wife, mother, engineer and marketer. She is dedicated to helping mothers build a successful online business from their passions, so that they don't have to choose between career and family. Hilary has been involved in network marketing, affiliate marketing and digital marketing consulting for the past 10 years. Some of the links in this post are 'affiliate links.' This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission.

    8 replies to "A Mother I admire and Follow"

    • Hilary, I love that you found someone who had what you wanted and were brave enough to ask questions to do what she did to get what she had! Her answer with the question “Do you really want to know?” is priceless. Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs a person can ever have but can be so rewarding, too. Thanks for sharing this story.

      • Hilary

        Thank you Dr. Jones! When I look back now I realize how priceless that answer was as well. Thanks for stopping by

    • Doug

      Hi Hilary
      I am glad to find your blog here on the challenge.
      I will be coming back to read more of your posts.
      Blog on!

      • Hilary

        Thanks for stopping by Doug! Glad to be here as well!

    • Heidi Albertson

      Love this Hilary!! You’re so right being a parent is hard enough being an intentional parent is a whole different thing. It’s wonderful you found someone to learn from who raised such amazing kids!!

      • Hilary

        Heidi you’re so right! Being intentional in anything is difficult but worth it!

    • Alice Gerard

      It’s great to have a parent as a wonderful role model. My mother was like that for me. She was very smart and she valued education. She taught in the university and gave her everything to her students. And she was a great cook. She taught me how to cook and bake, and I will always be grateful to her for that.

      • Hilary

        For most people parents are their first role models and I want to be that for my children! Thanks for stopping by Alice.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.