Reflections
Lisa Pijl
Retired from St. Mary’s High School
Q: What’s the greatest life lesson you learned from your mom?
A: I was so very blessed to have my mother in my life for 99½ years. I grew up in the ’50s and ’60s and I was very lucky to have a stay-at-home mom. She cooked every meal and taught us to eat healthy and to always stay active. My parents enjoyed playing tennis, golf and swimming in their spare time and shared the love of sport and outside activities with our family. In turn, I have passed that along to my children and grandchildren. We enjoyed a simple lifestyle and may not have had that much, but we always had each other and never went without. If I had to pick the one life lesson that my mother was very passionate about and passed on to me, it was the importance of always putting God first and having a personal relationship with God before anything else in my life.
Q: What do you love most about being a mom?
A: Becoming a mother was the greatest gift that God ever bestowed on me and experiencing unconditional love for and from your child has been the best blessing. Every stage of their lives was an adventure and a comedy of errors. I found myself learning from my many mistakes and giving myself some grace along the way! From mothering an infant to preschooler to adolescent was a wonderful rollercoaster, but nothing can beat the relationship you enjoy with your adult children. I have four children that I now call my best friends and I look forward to all my new adventures with their families and my ten grandchildren, which by the way is really the ultimate gift. I hope one day if my children are asked, “What was the one great life lesson that your mother taught you?” they would reply, “That your home is where each of you lives for the other and all live for God.”
Christa Griffith
Office Manager and Volunteer Program Manager for Visit Stockton
fun. She’s taught me tough love, loyalty and even though you love your kids, it’s okay to not like them sometimes.
Q: What’s the greatest life lesson you learned from your mom?
A: My mother can make a friend in an elevator. Her ability to gravitate towards others, start a conversation with a stranger, give unconditionally and show kindness are what make my mother one of the purest people you will ever meet. Her life lesson isn’t something that is taught or said, but it is who she is and what she embodies as a person. My mom never comes to your house empty-handed. I laugh because her gift bags often come with things like fruit, a few rolls of toilet paper, toothpaste, Cliff Bars, new shoes, leftovers and an envelope with cash in it just cause, and I’ll have just ran out of toothpaste. How did she know? Her smile is contagious, and her energy fills the room with fun. She’s taught me tough love, loyalty and even though you love your kids, it’s okay to not like them sometimes.
Q: What’s the best skill you learned from your mom?
A: My mother is a woman of many skills. She was raised by two very hard-working parents who cut wood and farmed all their lives. She’s a little busy bee who rarely sits and is always on the go. I am certain my work ethic comes from my mother and my professional drive to succeed and make money from my father. If she’s not taking care of my daughter while I work, she’s helping Grandma on the farm. She’s a very selfless person. If rooting for the underdog and seeing the best in people, even when they don’t deserve it, is a skill, then my mom has mastered it. I’ve learned how to enjoy a glass of wine and a good meal from my mother and how to make a dollar stretch at a thrift store. You don’t always get a mother like mine and I am blessed to have her.
Q: What do you love most about being a mom?
A: I became “a mother” when I was 27. I raised three little girls during the most formative years of my adult life. They taught me to put others in front of myself and love a child that wasn’t mine. Having my daughter at 32 was a gift. I gave myself time to travel the world, enjoy the theater, and build a career. I love watching her grow into who she is. Seeing her creativity, sass and boldness mature as she ages. Boy, do I have a mini me and boy, am I in for it. She comes to my board meetings at SCT, she attends my Leadership and Visit Stockton events, and she’s my date to the theater and symphony. I am planting a seed. We all have our days when we think we could have handled a situation differently as a mother and I love having days when I know I’ve hit the mark.
Jovanna Vialdores
Contracts Analyst at First 5 San Joaquin
Q: What’s the greatest life lesson you learned from your mom?
A: My mom is the most resilient person I know. She defines resilience. Being raised in a household and community experiencing deep poverty and growing up during a time and in a culture marked by segregation and racism, she learned how to bend without breaking. How to remain faithful to God while dealing with life’s challenges. How to be grateful while experiencing lack. How to do hard things with a smile. And her life over the years has been an incredible example of those things to her five children. And now that I’ve come into motherhood, I’m learning how valuable the legacy of resilience is that she’s left for me. It’s a gift, really. I have so many memories and conversations and moments with my mom that fill up my motherhood well. And I draw from it whenever I need a reminder that I, too, am resilient.
Q: What do you love most about being a mom?
A: As a mom to a toddler and a bonus mom to adult children, it can be tough to live up to all the many expectations that our culture places on moms. So, I’ve learned to embrace the joyful ride that motherhood can be, all the ups and downs. And I absolutely love the gift that motherhood has been. I love that it teaches me how to extend and receive grace. I love that it gives me the opportunity to influence someone else in a way that can positively impact generations to come. I love the early morning snuggles and evening dance parties. And I love that being a mom has expanded my purpose in life. “To whom much is given, much is required.” And while I embrace the “much,” I also accept the great responsibility and privilege of mommyhood.
Shauna Buzunis-Jacob
Director of Marketing and Development, Child Abuse Prevention Council
Q: What’s the greatest life lesson you learned from your mom?
A: Life goes much quicker than you think. I got married and had my children a bit later in life. I was well into career mode and trying to raise three girls. “Slow down” has always been her mantra to me; enjoy it, stay home and cuddle those babies when they are sick, show up at all the school events, and take the extra vacation. Work will be there when you get back. Being raised in the ’80s when women were trying to do it all and have it all, she reminded me that it was okay to really pick a career, a job where I could put my family first. She was preaching work-life balance before it was a thing.
Q: What’s the best skill you learned from your mom?
A: Well, it was not cooking! We both are not very good at that. The best skill I learned from my mother is how to raise strong daughters! My mother was raised in the poor South, with no running water, no bathroom, the oldest of six, money was tight all the time. She often speaks of the opportunities she didn’t even know she was missing. She talks about marriage being a way out of her circumstances. The skill of hard work and perseverance was what she instilled in my sister and me. My mother taught me the importance of education and the power that independence would bring me. The skill is to incorporate that message into a way of life for our children. Never be reliant on someone else for your happiness (or your distress); that is a powerful message that I try to instill in my girls every day.
Q: What do you love most about being a mom?
A: I think what you love most about being a mom often changes depending on your children’s age. My 24-year-old is getting married, and she’s telling her sibling to listen to me, that I actually know what I am talking about. I love that, just had to put that in print! As she navigates her relationship with her fiancé and career, I get excited to see her use or reflect on our family values and foundations. My 17-year-old is graduating from high school; it has been my pleasure to watch her grow into a very strong young woman, always questioning her path and often mine. So proud of her independence and ability to be her own person no matter the consequence. My 15-year-old is in high school and playing competitive volleyball, with lots of travel and opportunities to really bond. I love the long trips, the conversation and the little moment that will create her memories.
