As we take time this weekend to honor the ones we call “mom,” let’s not forget all the words of wisdom our mothers have given to us. Three local women recalled their mother’s best advice and shared the advice they hope to pass on to their children.
***
Adrenna Alkhas is a very busy working mother. She works part time with the Stanislaus County Fair as their marketing and communications coordinator, while also working on her doctorate degree at California State University, Stanislaus.
Even though the young mother juggles work and school, she still finds time to make her two young children and husband Peter her number one priority.
She has a three-year-old daughter named Izabelle, who will be starting pre-school in August, and six-month-old son named Izaiah.
Tradition is also important to Alkhas. She hopes to pass on to her two children the Assyrian culture that her mother — Marina Benjamin, who grew up in Baghdad, Iraq — passed on to her.
Q. What is the best advice your mother ever gave you?
A. “One of the best things my mother told me was to keep all of the chaos out of your house. Limit your friends as far as who can come in and out of your home to keep the negativity out of your household.”
Q. What is the best piece of advice you can give to your children?
A. “Abide by the church and what God has instilled in us; keep the Assyrian tradition alive; be aware of your surroundings and be kind.”
***
Growing up on the Westside of Turlock, Julien Elementary School principal Linda Murphy-Lopes was raised with a strong maternal presence from her grandmother and mother, who she said gave her the ability to be the strong woman that she is today.
Now she hopes to pass along that independent background to her two children and three grandchildren; as well as the two daughters (Leann and Laurie), four grandchildren and one great granddaughter (Mya) she gained through her recent marriage.
She has a 32-year-old son named Mike who works for Los Alamos National Laboratory as an experimental diagnostic engineer. He is married and has one daughter named Sofia. Murphy-Lopes also has a 34-year-old daughter named Lori who is following in her mother’s footsteps as an instructional aide and is working to one day become a teacher. Lori is married and has two daughters named Kayli and Gabriella.
Murphy-Lopes enjoys being a mother, but definitely agrees that being a grandmother is just as good.
Q. What is the best advice your mother ever gave you?
A. “Treat others the way you want to be treated.”
Q. What is the best piece of advice you can give to your children?
A. “Remember to enjoy life. Everything you say and do compromises or compliments your character.”
***
Debbie Sillivan is a veteran mother. She has three grown children; she is a full-time mom to her current six foster children; and has mothered over 45 foster children in the past two years.
Helping foster children has always been a life’s dream for Sillivan and a goal since she was in high school. She has always wanted to help kids and provide them a more stable environment.
Her oldest child, Elizabeth, is 31 years old and works as a senior financial analyst. Her middle child, Stephanie, is 27 years old and is pursuing a career in child development. And her youngest child, Danielle, is 25 years old and works at BBVA Compass bank. Sillivan is also in the process of adopting an eight year old who is currently in her home as a foster child.
Her six foster children range in age from six days old to 11 years old.
Q. What is the best advice your mother ever gave you?
A. “Be the best parent you can be and raise your kids better than you were raised.”
Q. What is the best piece of advice you can give to your children?
A. “Be honest and be a good person. Embrace all the help given to you.”
