Stand up for what is right, even if you're standing alone.

I'm on the edge of many emotions as of late. I feel a shift. I sense a more established alignment. I'm feeling, above all, my mother's integrity shine through me. And then I remember Mom's poster:

This poster she had in her office at home. My sister in California now has this poster hanging in her classroom. I see why. What a policy to adhere to. Yes. It makes so much sense. We all talk about integrity, doing the right thing even when no one is watching. But how often do we follow through on that? However this poster, and more specifically, my mother was always about more than that. It is more than doing right to appease yourself. It is about fighting until the end for what you believe is right...even if you turn around and see no one in your corner.

It isn't always the popular choice. It isn't always easy. But it is necessary.

I am challenged everyday to adhere to this. For Mom. For me. For my kids. I always tried to teach my kids to use their loud Italian voices for good...to advocate for those who couldn't do for themselves. Also to stand up for themselves. I hope they learn this lesson and carry it a lifetime and pass it to their children.

I see now, as an adult how this can be accomplished. I watched so many battles my mother fought and even won. She was doing what she thought was right...and she was correct. Whether it was fighting with a teacher who over-stepped her bounds or an administrator who refused to give her child a lunch that consisted more than a PB & J Sandwich because I forgot my lunch on the bus and didn't like peanut butter, she was there. She fought. She won. Because she was right.

I often find myself wondering what she could do for me if she was still here. Then I realize that it would not be any different. Because she instilled this philosophy in me. I can confidently advocate for my kids, my family and those I consider close enough to be family. She already instilled in me that integrity that most consider admirable. But it is this poster, this saying that makes me who I am. Because not only do I strive to live it, but my mother lived it too. And one day I hope to grow up to be just like Mom.