What happens when we take the romantic filter out of motherhood? No-nonsense business.

By Dulce Zamora

As a little kid, I remember people always telling me how lucky I was to have such a beautiful mother. She’s attractive, but I’ve always thought it was a very limited description. Here’s what I’d like to add:

My mom is proficient in many fields. She can draft a model of people, places, and things with ease. She used to bake elaborate multi-tiered cakes for relatives’ weddings, chiffon cakes for restaurant customers, and fresh coconut pie for her family.

My mom is a savvy businesswoman and loyal to the company (our family). My father wanted to open a store. So, she canceled her baking gigs to manage their joint venture while he worked full time at a bank. She woke up at 5am, helped load and unload merchandise from warehouse to truck to store, supervised staff until it was time to manage the kids (including me) after school. After she tucked us into bed, she left us with a relative, and returned to the store until it closed around 9pm. She decided to take Sundays off to further enhance the family project. In response, a man at a high-profile firm declared she wasn’t a real businessperson, because he couldn’t understand why anyone would choose the health of their family company over more profits.

My mom is smart and adept at managing priorities. She was in the middle of working on her master’s degree in education, but decided instead to prioritize the development of future talent (the children) within the company.

My mom is charitable and trustworthy. She shows her philanthropy through food. She doesn’t sit down until everyone is served. She feeds everyone who visits and supplies them with a swag bag of more food. People also arrange to meet with her because she is a good listener. She is privy to a lot of confidential information but doesn’t betray trust. 

It may sound silly to speak about my mom and family in professional jargon, but somehow, when society talks about mothers, it’s the priceless, sentimental stuff (while also valuable) that gets the biggest attention. Many moms also have executive roles that are vital to the health of the unit. They’re not just beautiful, loving adornments we can’t live without. They’re the joint-CEO’s, COO’s, and/or the biggest backers and influencers of these commonplace ventures around the world. That’s why I’m eternally grateful to my mother. She’s not only beautiful inside and out, but she’s half of the powerhouse that thrust me in to the world, ready to fly.

So… Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! Thank you for your continued love, support, guidance, and investment in me, and now my own family. 

© 2021 Windswept Wildflower

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