FBW: Charlotte from My Pixie Blog and Her Bad-Ass Mother (Ms. May)

FBW stands for Featured Blogger of the Week. Each week we will feature one of our calendar ladies or gentleman. Mondays will be a post written by the FBW and Wednesdays will be an interview of the FBW. If you want to know how you can be a part of the Blogger Body Calendar project, please click here.

I had some difficulty constructing this post. I wanted it to be perfect since being a part of this calendar means so much to me, but I also needed it to be meaningful to show how much I support the amazing mission of the Blogger Body Calendar. After spending quite a bit of time thinking of various topics, it finally hit me.

In honor of Mother’s Day, which just so happens to fall in my featured month, I would like to dedicate this post to a truly remarkable woman in my life: my mother.

I don’t tell her nearly enough how much I love and respect her for the many sacrifices she has made and I thought now might be the perfect opportunity to tell her these things.

My mom came to this country after marrying my father in 1979. A hardworking woman from a tiny village in Germany, she packed up her things and left behind her memories, family, and friends to move to Flushing, Queens in an effort to provide a good life for her family. She took a job as a Registered Nurse and worked the night shift because it paid more and meant that she could still attend every dance recital, gymnastics practice, and violin lesson (I think that last one alone might qualify her for sainthood).

She tried as best she could to assimilate into the American way of life, which I know was a difficult feat for someone so unaccustomed to the traditions of this country. When kids teased us for our clothing on the school bus (yes, socks and sandals really are a part of the uniform in Europe), she taught my brother and I to walk tall and to wear our clothes proudly.

She’s also a bit of a bad ass. I remember one particular rainy day in October when my family had moved from a relatively unsafe area to a tree-lined street in the suburbs. It was our first day living in that house and we were locked out. Rather than disturb a neighbor for help, or hell, even grabbing a brick, my brother and I watched in awe as our mom punched through a glass door to break us into the basement. She turned to us, knuckles bleeding, and said, “Vat are you vaiting for? Come in!”

That was the day I started to think of my mom as a superhero.

Despite the fact that I spent several years perfecting her German accent and sometimes poking fun of the way she pronounces certain words (sorry, mom), I now understand the importance of having such a strong and independent role model in my life. Being a part of this calendar means the world to me. Not only is it a chance for me to thank my mom all these years later, it is also an opportunity to reflect on the survivor spirit that lives within us all and to provide hope for those who need it the most.

my parents in Paris circa 1978

Charlotte blogs at My Pixie Blog, can be found on Facebook and chatting on Twitter @MyPixieBlog