Mother Hemenway

In Yoga you are taught to unite your mind with your body. If you allow yourself further into the practice you will let your heart chakra lead all the salutations and create the rhythm of movement that best expresses your inner channel. When I attended my first yoga class last month, I was reserved with seeking guidance from my yogi instructor because I wanted to self learn, he did not agree. He has silver hair and the most charming smile so it’s hard to nod him away. His name is Pete and he has one of the more popular classes in the studio (mostly women)and largely I think its because of him-he has a high grade of empathetic accuracy and is very present as an instructor, I return every week for myself but I know he carries a portion of my motivation. I am drawn to instructors who possess high sensory powers and are very aware of it, it makes me want to be the perfect student for them.

Mother Hemenway was seated in one of those old office chairs that had been built with poor design when we first met. Her auburn hair was neatly combed and she wore glasses similar to Lisa Loeb -she even slightly resembled her in a really cute mom-way. We sat adjacent to each other and while she held my resume in her hand, I could feel her eyes on me, she watched me carefully and listened with intent. In those short 10 minutes I was made to feel like someone sitting right next to me who was a complete stranger actually cared about my past experiences and was truly curious to learn more. This stranger was Mother Hemenway, my future boss for the next 8 months- you can rarely predict the outcome of a brand new relationship when you first meet someone but somehow when I left the room that day, I felt confident and safe. The rest I knew I would just find out….8 months later and my first blog this year is about her so go figure on the mark she created.

Every Monday at 3pm sharp, Mother Hemenway and I were scheduled to meet for 30 minutes, we discuss the personal /professional and then my favorite what matters most to us. She and I could talk for hours , we both share a healthy and lengthy interest list -I never got bored of our conversations, we spoke about everything from e-harmony algorithms to recipes of gnocchi and pairing it with the perfect red wine. When it came down to work, she had high standards and expected it too, she often questioned the ‘why’ ‘what’ and ‘ how’ of a process or project and wanted everyone on her team to display similar attributes. I found this behavior to be deeply reflective from her and it demonstrated great instruction. I sponged every bit of it. She was stingy with compliments and I loved her for it because it never stopped me from wanting to learn and dig deeper. She often gave incomplete tasks and wanted me to be Sherlock Holmes to find the mystery of the unknown variable, she knew how to engage me and if anyone has hung out with me long enough, they know I need to be engaged in creative and not normal ways.

She once told me you think different from the rest of your peers, so go ahead and demonstrate it now-express your unique thought process, display your creative impressions and be bold about it, you’re not ordinary or average so prove it. Being around her company, made me more selective with who I surrounded myself with. They say attract who you are and I noticed i started to shave the extras and just made room for those that added light, love and quality in my life.

My time with her is ending soon so I can upgrade to a brighter opportunity and although she has fully prepared me to be a stronger, bolder and more confident version of myself. I feel sad. I have witnessed very rare and real qualities come out from MH and having my real mother 7000 miles away I found genuine comfort in her, i found safety and i found myself to be brave about moving forward and not looking behind. We meet people who come and go in our lives like chapters from a book but I know with Mother Hemenway she is meant to be a book that is never meant to be completed.