Our Founder, Suzie, Sits down with her mom to discuss life and motherhood.
I grew up in the western suburbs of Philadephia with my older sister, Lizzie and both of my parents. My childhood memories are full of joy, comfort, and of course my mom! She taught me countless life lessons growing up, and as I continue the path of leadership and entrepreneurship - I continue to notice the skills and lessons I learned from her along the way.
My mom, Margaret, worked (and still does!) all through our childhood. She seemed to seamlessly weave together her leadership role and career along with raising two strong, resilient young women. One particular memory I recently recounted with my husband was that at family dinner every night my parents would discuss career goals, challenges at work, and then walk through game-plans together. Seeing this communication from my parents, most notably my mother as a leader, positively impacted the choices I made throughout my life.
This week I sat down with my mom to talk about motherhood, work, and life experiences. Well let's be honest for a second, I did this yesterday, and I must say, it's a strange thing to turn the tables and interview your mom!
Check out our Q and A here - I hope you enjoy:
(Suzie) What is one lesson, or piece of advice, your mother passed on to you?
(Margaret) Treat all people equally - no matter who they are. She taught me about basic human respect.
(Suzie) How did the loss of loved ones impact your outlook on motherhood - do you think it had an impact?
(Margaret) How quickly time goes! Life isn't always fair. The ability to cope with the loss of my father and my only sister so young was modeled for me by my mother. Her strength and determination to maintain normalcy in my life taught me the powerful example of the influence that mothers have on their daughters.
(Suzie) This one is silly, but did you always want to be a mom?
(Margaret) I do not think I thought about it much - I took it for granted thinking that I would become a mom.
(Suzie) When we were little, how did you manage to balance your career goals with motherhood?
(Margaret) Many women can balance their careers and motherhood - but I realized when you were young girls that my life was out of balance, and that I had to make some adjustments for my own sanity. I chose to change careers and to take on a new job that allowed me to spend more time with the two of you but still allowed me to enjoy exciting work with people I have come to cherish.
(Suzie) Do you have a tip for our working moms?
(Margaret) I was reminded recently with the passing of Barbara Bush of one of her quotes. She summed it up best "at the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent.
(Suzie) What are the top 3 life lessons/skills you wanted to teach me and Lizzie growing up?
(Margaret)
- Live your life with honesty and integrity
- keep things in perspective, never lose your sense of humor
- Hard work does pay off
- Kindness matters
What is the best gift for mother's day - be honest!
Time spent together with my family - knowing now that would be the best gift for me and the best gift I could give my mother.
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Margaret Welsh is the current Director of Development for The Agnes Irwin School. During her time there she's overseen multiple capital campaigns, the most recent campaign was the largest amount raised by an all-girls school in the tri-state area in the shortest amount of time. Aside from her full career, Margaret is a daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother, friend and now a very proud grandmother! She hails from Nebraska (although she grew up and spent many years in Virginia), loves spending time with her friends, and her first career was in architectural history.