Who do you admire? Who is your hero?

Every year around this time, Good Housekeeping Magazine has a poll where readers select the men and women they most admire. I subscribed to the magazine for many years. It didn't make me a better housekeeper, and I'm not sure why I kept the subscription, because some things about the magazine really bugged me, but every year I would look at this survey and feel left out.

They listed politicians, and politicians' wives. Actors and actresses. Athletes, musicians, religious figures, national and international people in the news. But I have a question? Are these really the people we admire most? What do we really know about them? How can we call them our heroes?

Every year, I wanted to write in a name, but I never did. It bothered me a little that I never did, although I doubted whether they would have published my letter anyway, but it would have been nice to see her name in print. You see the woman I admire most has always been my mother.

There are two points of view on that statement. For those who know me, you are probably thinking I admire her for her title and position. My mother recently retired from a senior position in the Canadian Provincial Judicial System. Of course that is part of the reason, but it is how she reached that position, the obstacles she overcame, and how she handled herself on the way, and once she got there, that I admire.

Briefly, she was a woman in law school when women didn't go to law school. She was a Jew in public life, when Jews were still excluded from many areas of public life. She opened doors for women and for Jews. She leaves a legacy on the court of over 25 years of dedicated service. She taught her children that it was possible to have both career and family. She has never missed a special occasion, right down to 8th grade graduations! She loves all her grandchildren and isn't afraid to get down on the floor to play with the little ones. She handles adversity with as much grace as she handles success, and I know she will handle retirement with as much grace as she has handled her working life. I can't wait to see what she does next.

My mother is now, and will always be my hero.