38 The Courier SuN • MAY 7, 2015 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com for breaking news visit www.timesnewsweekly.com may 7, 2015 • times 31 VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS [email protected] A tribute to my Mom who made me feel like a queen Jonah wins race! Spring Dynamic for all the news 24 hours, 7 days a week DENTAL WORK Free Whitening included the inViSiBle WAy to Some excluSionS Apply StrAighten teeth 175-15 Jamaica avenue, Jamaica 718-297-4100 • 718-297-4106 go to www..third generation dentist timesnewsweekly.com $1000 off Lumineers $500 off Invisalign victoria’s secrets tweet me @vschneps Addy, Morgan and Jonah celebrating the gorgeous weather How do I love you, Mom? Let me count the ways. My mom was my mentor, my rock, a powerhouse of energy and leadership whom I dearly admired. From her Campfire Girl leader days to Girl Scout leader to PTA president, my mom positioned herself to be involved in my life while involving me. She was my role model. Perhaps, unknowingly, she made me feel like a queen when she dressed me as Queen Esther at Purim, a holiday celebrating the time when Esther – who saved the Jewish people – revealed to the king that there was a plan to destroy the Jewish people and convinced him to stop the plan. She was a hero, brave and strong and relentless in her pursuit of justice, a power woman in her day. At Purim, it is a custom to dress up as people from that critical time in our history, remembering the people who saved the Jews. I was always dressed as Queen Esther, and, with the encouragement of my parents, I felt special too. I think it became part of my psyche thanks to my mother. I was blessed to have her with me to see her grandchildren born and she spoiled them with her love and care. She was also my best babysitter, always there supporting me. When my first-born daughter Lara was diagnosed as profoundly disabled and my world collapsed, there was my mom to put me back on my feet and help me to find the energy to carry on. Her support and love were endless. I had created the nonprofit Life’s WORC with a group of neighbors and my mom jumped in, not only visiting Lara every week at Willowbrook, but also creating aquariums of colored sand and selling them to raise money for the work of WORC, which was sending busloads of volunteers to Staten Island and donating needed items. She was there too when Willowbrook became a site of protest and ultimately closed. As I marched and picketed, my mom watched Elizabeth, two years younger than Lara, who was a toddler during those dramatic, consuming days. I couldn’t have done what needed to be done without her caring, generous heart. Her support, her encouragement, her believing in me and her love sustained me and enabled me to be who I am today. Jonah came in first at the 1/4 mile Fun Run Race at the Long Island Marathon!! has sprung New York Mets fans Matthew and Jason Lotti beginning the Mets season at the “Lotti” square, which says, “#1 Mets fans!”
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