When I was a little girl I remember my strong West Indian Mom working hard. I remember her strict values and striving to provide for the four of us all by herself. She taught me many lessons. There were moments where the government stepped in, but she climbed the civil service ladder and landed a well paying position with the city. As the oldest I watched her go from her 8 hour day job at the city hospital to a part time job at Macy’s that had her coming home after 10 o’clock sometimes 11 at night. Her goal was to get us out of the South Bronx. Her dream was to buy us a house that we could call our own. That was her dream. She came here for that and was determined to get it.
I stepped in to cook, clean and supervise and the valuable lesson that my Mom always shared with us was, “If you want something you’ve got to work hard for it.” She never waited for handouts. That’s probably why even as a dreamer, I never despise hard work. I did what I needed to do until my dreams could take flight. I remember plugging away at my day job as I was raising my son and seeing him through school and trying to balance night school so that I could earn my degree. Sometimes my fast track classes would last all day Saturday and I regretted the time it took away from him and tried to make it up the best I could.
More. That’s what I wanted. And that’s what my Mom wanted for us too. She wanted us to have it easier. She wanted us to learn from her so that life wasn’t as rough for us as it was for her. I remember trying to sell aromatherapy, I sold Amway and I tried lots of other things too. It was a journey trying to find my way to my own dream. But here I am finally, being a midwife to other dreamers and helping them give birth to their dreams and ideas. I’m thankful for the opportunity to have a dream. I’m honored for the chance through trial and error to learn what worked for me, what didn’t and why. I’m thankful to my Mom who instilled in me the desire to want more, to crave more and to never give up. I’m thankful that her dream of owning a home has grown into having owned three. She has taught and continues to teach me one simple lesson: nothing is impossible and I still love that about her.
Edit:
On September 6, 2014 our light and head dreamer Gloria Anita Grosvenor made her transition to be with the Lord. She will be greatly missed and our prayer is to leave a legacy that is a fraction as great as the one she left behind. She is already sorely missed by her children, grandchildren, family, friends and all who were fortunate to know her!
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