Mothers play arguably the most important role in the world. They foster life all around them and help bring meaning to that life every day.
Here are some of the mothers of the editors at the UWM Post:
Lisa Martensen
While I don’t have a lot of time to spend with my beloved mom this Mother’s Day, I can at least tell you all about some of the wonderful things she’s done for me throughout my life. She has been the biggest influencer on me because she raised me almost on her own from the time I was 3-years-old.
She has worked extremely hard during my life to give me as comfortable of a life as she could, and for that I am thankful.
I am also thankful for all of the adventures we’ve embarked on together over my life. From surviving a small hurricane in the U.S. Virgin Islands by napping through most of it in my crib when I was too young to spell my own name, to riding across the midwest on the back of her purple Harley-Davidson, being Lisa Martensen’s son is an experience not easily forgotten.
Despite my best efforts to age her during my years as her teenage son, people still think she is my girlfriend or wife when we go out for dinner. Even though I once pretended to jump off the side of the Grand Canyon in front of her and she is more than twice my age, she is just as elegant as ever.
I hope my mom will be able to put thousands more miles under the wheels of her Super Glide Sport in the future because the world is a better place with her in it.
I love you, mom.
-Adam Kelnhofer
Jolie Semancik
Mom,
You are easily the most inspirational woman I know. You’ve been through some insanely tough times in your life, and look at yourself today. You’re not weakened by hardships, you’re strengthened. Just over eight years ago you beat breast cancer, and now you run triathlons and races more often than not. I love everything about you, especially your heart. I have never met somebody with a heart as big as yours. You are so selfless, always putting other people first and wanting to give back in any way that you can. You amaze me every day with your positive attitude and optimism. Thank you for always being my number one fan giving up so much so I can live a great life. Yes, that even includes the little things like giving up the television remote so I can change your Lifetime movie to a Bucks game. You have taught me so much, such as to treat others how I want to be treated and how to never take anything in life for granted. I would not be half the man that I am today without your guidance, and I am so blessed to have you in my life.
I love you, mom.
Your number one fan,
–Zach Semancik
Mary Prochaska
“Mother is a verb. It’s something you do. Not just who you are.” –Dorothy Canfield Fisher
I can imagine being a mother is rewarding and extremely cumbersome at the same time. When one becomes a mother, they accept a responsibility. More often than not, they put their needs second to their children’s. Things your mother never told you is that you probably made her cry… a lot. It hurt when you had many obscene outbursts in your adolescence. She wasn’t always sure, but she tried not to show it. She wanted the rest of the Thanksgiving leftovers or the last piece of cake or the front seat or anything else you can think of. But most importantly, she carried you a lot longer than nine months and is still doing so, perhaps farther away, but it is still ever-present.
The same is to be said for my mom and the kaleidoscope of memories we’ve developed over the years. We always drove to Madison and had talks in the car or had horror movie nights because that is her favorite genre. Or when I was a child and I’d be riding my bike in the driveway and she’d put on her Halloween mask and stare out the window at me to scare me. I am exceptionally blessed to have adopted even a quarter of her qualities and I cannot thank her enough for the job she took on when she had myself and my sister, but more so, doing such an impeccable job. I do have the best mother, although I’m quite biased. Nevertheless, Happy Mother’s Day to all spectacular moms out there; the world couldn’t turn quite as nicely without them.
-Emily Prochaska
Andrea Brown
My mom has always been my biggest supporter. When I found out this year that I was going to have to spend my birthday at home, she asked me what I wanted most. I told her I wanted to see my friends, knowing that there was no way I’d be able to see them in person. I spent my birthday with my family, trying to make the best of an unfortunate situation. In the middle of the day, my mom asked me to come to her office, and when I got there, I saw my best friends’ faces on her computer screen. Without my knowledge, she had managed to set up a Zoom call with all of my best friends to cheer me up. My mom is the most loving person I know, who will do anything for the people she cares about. I am so grateful to my mom for this memory and all of my memories that remind me how caring, thoughtful, and strong my mom is.
–Zoë Brown