My Mom, An Independent Thinker

Sunday,September 9,2012
written by: Sheila Quinn
Source:Seeker of Truth,Independent Thinker and Muslim

My mother died more than a decade ago. It was Ramadan and I was on Umrah Mabur. A few days after I arrived home from my trip to Saudi Arabia I got a phone call from my brother telling me that my mother had died.

In some ways I am the daughter of my mother. We had many things in common. She loved: books, knowledge, people and ideas. She was a thinker who at times acted contrary to advise that experts gave her. She didn’t allow anyone to tell her what she should or shouldn’t think or believe. She thought what she wanted to think and she believed what she wanted to believe.

An example of her acting according to her convictions was when she decided to breastfeed her babies against doctor’s advise. My siblings and I were born in the 1950’s. I think it was common at that time for doctors to discourage breastfeeding. But, my mother being the independent thinker that she was decided that she should breastfeed her babies for a few weeks- even though it was against doctors advise.

The last time I talked with my mother was in a phone call. Although it was obvious that she was very tired, it was clear to me that it was my mother who was speaking to me. She said: ” Sheila, the doctors say that I have cancer.” This is how she told me that she was dying. She didn’t tell me that she had cancer but that “the doctors say”. That is my mom for you. Always the skeptic, always the independent thinker who thought for herself.