Wallingford Mother's Day Superstar: Maureen Reed

We asked our readers to send us their amazing mom stories for Mother’s Day and received some very special ones. Do you think your mom is the best? Details on how to nominate her to be Patch’s “Mother’s Day Superstar” are below.

Mother’s name

Maureen Reed

Relationship

Connor Reed, son

Why does your mom rock?

I have received significant recognition and support from Wallingford through my fight with ADEM last year. However, there is one person, especially, who I do not feel has received enough credit for how it’s affected her, and I want to change that.

What my mother does is, quite honestly, beyond belief. She is the mother of four children, including a 10 year old, the caretaker of two dogs, and the primary housekeeper and chef (and by primary, I mean only – sorry dad). She is an Assistant Principal who also serves as an acting department head at a high school, a part-time Doctorate student, a part time college professor, and a Eucharistic Minister on the weekends.

Yet, she still manages to be the greatest mother to us four kids. I was in the hospital for 87 days. My mother was there for EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. It didn’t matter how much snow or rain fell or how much she had to do, she managed to find a way to see me.

Before I was transferred to Yale-New Haven, I was admitted to MidState with a meningitis diagnosis. At first, they did not know whether it was viral or bacterial, so anybody in my room had to wear a precautionary mask. Now, I was nervous because this was my first time staying overnight at a hospital, so my mom offered to stay. I’ll never forget the sight of my mom, crunched up in a chair in the corner of the room, trying to breathe through a medical mask, struggling to stay warm with a flimsy blanket in my 60 degree room, trying to zone out my obnoxious snoring – even though she had a full day ahead of her starting at five in the morning.

Or the time at Yale, when a nurse woke me up at 3:30 in the morning and told me she had to suction me (a respiratory treatment) because my oxygen level was dropping. I told her absolutely not. I had never done it without my mom. So what happened? My mom woke up and drove twenty minutes both ways in the dead of the morning just to hold my hand for a ten minute procedure.

These stories just scratch the surface of what my mom has done for me and my siblings. It’s no wonder that when I was at Yale, and I awoke from my coma for the first time in three days, the first thing I did when I opened my eyes was look at my mother and mouth the words, “I love you”. My mom knows we appreciate her, but she will probably never know how much my siblings and I love her, because it’s simply too overwhelming to put into words.

I’m drawn to conclude that she must have learned this love from her own mother, who passed away in 1981, when my mother was just 12 years old. I have never met my grandmother, but I have no doubt in my mind that she is staring down right now, proud beyond belief of the mother, wife, and woman her daughter has become.

-----------------------------------

Think your mom rocks? We want to hear from you! Send us your amazing mom stories and we’ll share the best ones with our readers. Nominate your Mother’s Day Superstar by answering the following questions and she could be featured!

1. Mother’s name and town she lives in.
2. Your name and relationship to the nominee.
3. Why does your mom rock? Details are a good thing!

Please answer the questions and email your answers, along with a photo all in one email, to: [email protected] and give your mom the recognition she deserves!