And it doesn’t look like they’re backing down. “A sudden detour into single motherhood was a long way from the journey I thought I was on,” said Johnson Lane.
“I have had to wear more hats than I did before, but I've learned that it is just an opportunity to learn new things and to be an example to my kids in a way I hadn't planned on.
We may not have control over what life throws at us, but we always have control over how we handle it. Johnson Lane’s situation is far from unique. In 2020, there were approximately 15.49 million families in the United States with a female head of the household and no spouse present. Although for moms like her, the day-to-day can be a slog, and the days turn into weeks and turn into months and years, reflecting back provides an opportunity to celebrate the incredible achievements and own them. This Mother’s Day, Lowe’s invites you to check out their new #HomeMaker series, which highlights all the incredible moms who bring a world of possibilities and joy to their homes every day, just like Johnson Lane. The amazing thing about these moms is that they just keep going and doing, assuring a safe environment and giving their love unconditionally, even when they feel like they have nothing more to give. It’s the truly magical gift of motherhood that we believe is worth championing and celebrating. We often have little awareness of how our actions might affect the lives of others. Our kindness simply goes into the ether, maybe to return as good karma, who knows. But still…have you ever done something kind for a stranger, and wondered… whatever happened to that person? And most of the time that’s fine, considering that the act was probably done to help someone else, not for recognition. In 1999, two sisters boarded a plane from Amsterdam to the United States, fleeing their home of former Yugoslavia. The republic had been continuously bombed by NATO for three months during the Kosovo War, in an attempt to thwart widespread ethnic cleansing of Albanian civilians.
The sisters didn’t have a penny to their name-they left behind everything they knew. Only one could speak English.Ī woman sat next to them, and, reminded of her own daughters, was moved by their frightening plight. She reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope.