'She Was My Idol.' A Daughter Remembers
Her Dance Star Mother

A short, sweet delightful change of pace from all the depressing news. Thank you for posting.

Bittersweet story. Although not exactly bitter, the author had more of a business relationship with her mother beginning in early adolescence, but she longed for something deeper. Later in life when the mother needed her care, she found the longed-for relationship after the demands of a career in dance were replaced with a sweet fragility. Makes one think about what might have been. Although her mother was a talented professional dancer, a field that requires total dedication, there is a lesson to be learned by all career women, especially those with young and school-age children. The precious time at home is fleeting, only 18 short years; the working years stretch on for decades. Women need to learn how to pace themselves. They can have it all, but not all at the same time. A dedicated focus on raising children, with a father who is their husband, is the ultimate career because it produces good people that will impact society for generations, rather than a product that is obsolete in five years or less. Recently on the phone my widowed sister was talking about spending time with her daughter, with whom she has a decent relationship, and two granddaughters (10 &12) when unexpectedly she lamented, "I wish I hadn't been so focused on my career." Her husband passed unexpectedly five years ago from a stroke at 69. The loss has been difficult for my niece because her father shouldered the bulk of the parenting. Since his death and my sister's retirement, my niece is suddenly the focus of my sister's world. My sister was a surgical nurse working with the doctor that pioneered skin transplants for burn patients. She eventually became the Director of Surgical Services at a large L.A. suburban hospital. She was always on-call. I can't remember a family special event that she didn't leave early for the hospital. She started as a Candystriper at 16 and retired 50 years later. Great career and she's the go-to consultant for the hospital at a cool $100/hour. But she has a daughter who has been mourning her Dad for five years, and she doesn't know how to be a mother, "I wish I hadn't been so focused on my career."

Thank you for that story #2. I have four daughters. I can relate.

The only sad note was her mother’s going into dementia late in her long life. They had an unusual life but she was able to be with her mother throughout much of her young life. She doesn’t sound at all as though she was either abused or neglected, but that she enjoyed their special relationship.

Occasionally and rarely does National Propaganda Radio provide something worth the read.