Do you know my mom?

My son called the other day. He shared with me his thoughts on what he wanted to do next, and by any form of measurement, it felt like the unsafe route. But then I thought, as I’ve been preaching, as my parent’s taught me, there’s not any general form of measurement. There’s only our own. And my job, just as it was my mom’s, is to make sure that I’m there if they slip off the edge, we’re there to help catch them. Maybe even nurse a wound or two until they’re back up and running again.

In 1996 just before I left for Hong Kong, I told my parents I was going to quit American Express and that I’d be starting a designer brand. I had no design experience save working in a boutique in high school; but I loved fashion, I could draw, and I had an understanding of marketing and business. I showed my parents my initial sketches of the pieces I was going to make. To this day I can’t show them to anyone, they’re that embarrassing although they are a bold testament to what belief and determination can make happen. My parents said something like “you can do anything you put your mind to” and off I went.

And that was the easy part, because saying I could do something versus truly supporting me are two different things.

And for this, I am forever grateful to my mom.

When I called in 1998 for my mom to help me with my business, she answered. She worked full time as an Assistant Vice Principal at my old High School. Admittedly she had no idea what she was getting in to. But neither did I. And that is the point, she just jumped in there with me, even though everything about it was truly inconvenient, hard work, and required a deep belief that it would all work out. Maybe my mom is the O.G Almost Reckless?

Mom “officially” retired from Tibi a few years ago, but in a way truly never has. I don’t have her packing up boxes and following up on unpaid invoices, but she’s there on the other end of the phone supporting me everyday as my biggest cheerleader. And as time marches on, I hope I will be there for her in exactly the way she was for me. As someone who loves her dearly but I need her to know, that I’m there for more than just supportive words. That showing up physically is part of the bargain that I owe her in return. It is a debt I’m here to repay, happily.