Things Mom Taught

When I was a kid, I always went with my mom on her errands. Groceries, post office, “the poor” (Salvation Army drop off), and the bank.

One day, it was about 1979 or 1980…there was a bit of a confrontation at the bank. I was just a tagalong but, I’ll never forget my mom’s eyes as they welled up with tears and things got real, really fast.

She said to the Teller, “Why would I want that? Don’t you know that if I say yes, you’ll be out of a job?!”

I could feel her sadness, I could feel her pain, I could feel an indescribable discomfort.

It tuned me in. But I didn’t know why she was so upset.

All I remember is that I trusted my mom so much that I knew she knew something that I didn’t know.

What was she being asked?

What did the Bank Teller want?

Suddenly, I became keenly tuned-in to mom’s sadness, alarm, and unfathomable confusion.

“Mom? Mom? Mom! What did the lady say?”

“She asked me if I want the ‘Versateller card’. ” Mom said.

“What’s a ‘Versateller card?.” I asked.

“It’s the thing…the plastic thing…that will make, all the ladies who work here, useless, and out of a job some day. I don’t want a piece of plastic. I want to see these people! I want all of them to keep their jobs! I love people.”

She cried. She kept crying even after we left the bank. She said in the car… “Dont they know? Don’t they know? Why do they want us to have the card? Why don’t they see what I see?”

That unexpected, unscripted, intangible moment left me with a deep sense of realizing that the world is not only what we see. There’s so much more. We have a responsibility for informing people of the future.

What do you see? What are the moments that didn’t end up on social media?

The lesson I learned that day is multifaceted:

- people shouldn’t be replaced by plastic

- people shouldn’t be replaced by machines

- your voice matters

- your kids remember what you stand up for

- I love people too

- Stand firm for what’s right

- My mom may be the greatest woman who ever lived 🥹🙏🏻❤️

Mother’s Day is on Sunday. What’s the greatst lesson you learned from your mother?