Growing up, my mother was the task master. She made sure I practiced and had follow through and I resented her for it. She never made me start anything but she made me commit to it for one year. At the end of each year, I got to make the decision if I wanted to keep going (and I had to make that decision knowing she would probably push me harder the next year).

I'm sure it wasn't a fun job for her. It was probably made tougher because she let her father be the one to encourage me to do things for the love of doing them. My grandfather was the one who inspired me to work to be my best but he couldn't have done that without the foundation my mother put in place.

I may have been bitter over it when I small but as an adult, I really respect the way that my mother sacrificed my short-term love as a child for love and respect from me as an adult.