I have always said that being a parent is the hardest job in the world. My mom became a parent in 1958 at the tender age of 17. There are no manuals or parenting classes to teach us how to parent, unless you’ve made a serious mistake along the way. One of the silver linings of having a very young mom is that I still have my mom. She is young at heart and still full of energy and curiosity. Moms teach us the most important things by the example they lead. My mom taught me to work hard, to persevere, to be curious, to be a lifelong learner, and to care about others.