A Tribute to Laurie Maher
The image of you that is indelibly stamped in my mind is from a photograph taken on January 9, 1993.
I was about to be married (that afternoon) and you were about to become a Mom (a few weeks later).
The photograph is a close-up, from the waist up, although you didn’t have a waist at the time...
You’re
holding two half-full glasses of champagne in your right hand and a
half-full glass of wine in the left, although you weren’t drinking
alcohol at the time either…
Your hair is in your trademark shoulder-length bob. It looks darker
than it is, because the photo is black and white. But I know it’s
blond, shiny and full, because that’s the way it always is.
Your nails are beautifully manicured, I wonder what colour they were?
Your face is joyful, lit up by your lovely smile and your sparkling
eyes. You are so beautiful. So expressive. So natural. So perfectly
Laurie.
I love that photograph of you. Because it’s so, well, YOU! Okay, you
ARE a LITTLE heavier than normal, but that was Kiara, soon to appear
and make you and Johnny first-time parents (Rowan was still a glint in
his father’s eye at that point).
You were just about to take to motherhood like a duck takes to water.
You had given up your career in advertising to be a stay-at-home mom,
but the skills you employed so adeptly as an account manager at Baker
Lovick would soon serve you well at home.
Among them the abilities to:
- juggle multiple projects with ease
- work to tight budgets and timelines
- educate, negotiate and motivate
- tackle tough issues
- be patient, patient, patient
- use your imagination
- multi-task
- manage difficult personalities
- use humour and grace under pressure
- plan a menu, plan a party, plan an escape route
- work well in a team
- lead, supervise and follow
- think and talk like a two-year-old, a four-year-old or a six-year-old
- challenge, change and cheer
- create something out of nothing
- deal with temper tantrums
- care, castigate and cajole
- love, laugh and lend a hand
- know when to hold on and when to let go
You are amazing and I love you.