Thanks Mom!
As the Healthy Planet magazine embarks into our 20th year of service in the St. Louis area, we are so pleased to be your ongoing source for healthy and green resources. For me, there is no better job in the world and I am very fortunate to be doing what I love – publishing! With that in mind, I think it only appropriate that I write a testament to my mother, Mary Ann, in this month of Mother’s Day and our tribute to Women @ Work. My mother played a most important role in my publishing career. She believed in my writing, my creativity and my often odd and unconventional behavior — even when it meant a trip or two down the rabbit hole. She took me back in and cared for me when I was hurting and lost as a young adult. She nurtured my fragile ego when it was tattered and torn. She never lost faith in me as I grew as an artist even though the growth was often slow and painful. And when it came time for me to poke my head from the rabbit hole, she was there with a hug and a smile and the encouragement to get back in school and grow to be whatever my heart desired. I am sure she had her moments when she wished I would be a doctor or a corporate millionaire (after all she was a Republican), but in her heart she knew I was a writer, photographer and a publisher. So off I went to work on my college newspaper, graduated and started a community newspaper, and then The Healthy Planet magazine. I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity of strong loving women all around me along the way. Women who believed in me, even during moments of despair and darkness. Sometimes there is no quick fix to rabbit holes. Often it just takes time, and men usually want fast answers and speedy recoveries. We like to keep things moving. Even when we are stuck in the mud. The truth is, my mother was often a lost soul herself, so I think she understood me. She knew there was passion in pain. I suspect most mothers know more about pain than men can ever imagine. Coming from Mars we have our strengths but nothing like the strength it takes for a mother to juggle all of life’s obstacles. To all of you mothers out there, Happy Mother’s Day! You are the nurturers, the providers, the psychologists, the advocates for all of us children who need your love and guidance no matter how old we get. Today I believe in myself, because my mother believed in me years ago when I was just a frightened rabbit. I love and miss you mom!
Happy Mother’s Day!
J.B. Lester, Publisher