Moms on moms: How one generation of N.L. mothers inspires the next
Constanza Safatle, right, and her mother Maria Ferrari Rey. Safatle said she admires her mother for having the courage to make changes for herself later in life. (Submitted by Constanza Safatle)
Reflecting on Mothers' Day, a group of prominent Newfoundland and Labrador women say they have learned valuable lessons from their moms, which helped to make them who they are today.
Constanza Safatle, the founder of Newbornlander, a social enterprise in St. John's that sells baby clothes, says she has always loved her mother, but has grown to admire her in recent years.
The two women were almost opposites. Safatle says she was always entrepreneurial and chasing financial independence, while her mother Maria was content staying at home. However, this changed when Maria, at 52 and following a divorce, was able to reinvent herself.
Now, Maria is the head of a non-profit, and Safatle said her mother's story is an inspiration to her and to other women. It's never too late to change the trajectory of one's life, she said. It's a lesson she shares with her own daughter, Victoria, and her son, Mateo.
"We talk the same language and we support each other," Safatle said.
"I always loved her, but today I admire her as a woman, not just my mom."
Blanche Winters is the daughter of Nellie Winters who was an influential seamstress in Nunatsiavut. Winters says she learned greatly from her mother and still does. (Submitted by Blanche Winters)
Lifelong teacher
Blanche Winters, an artist in Makkovik, is the daughter of Nellie Winters, an influential seamstress in Nunatsiavut who received an honorary doctorate from Memorial University for her contributions to Inuit art and culture.
Blanche remembers how she would watch and learn from her mother as a child. Nellie would embroider beautiful flower patterns that stretched from one end of a coat to the other.
"She's a wonderful teacher and she's a role model," Winters said.
Not only did her mother teach her to sew, forming the foundation of her current art, but she also taught her to fish, cook and pick berries. Nellie was her teacher in life and at school.
"I'm very proud of her," said Blanche.
"Other people here in Makkovik, go down [to her house] for storytelling of her home and how she got into sewing and how to make things."
Blanche said her daughter, Jessica, is also an artist.
Jenny Brake, chief of the Qalipu First Nation, says she learned how to be empathetic, kind and a leader to her community from watching her mother. (Qalipu First Nation/Facebook)
'Everyone has a story'
Qalipu First Nation Chief Jenny Brake is a mother of three and says her mother, Victoria Jean Brake, was the "kindest, most gentle, loving person anyone could ever meet."
Brake says it was through her mother that she learned to be empathetic.
"She always reminded me that everybody has a story…that everyone is coming from their own place of hurt and and happiness," she said.
Her mother was so kind and sweet, Brake said, the family joked that honey was coursing through her veins.
Brake became a mother at 22. She recalls a time when she and her mother sat together, folding baby clothes. Her mother shared stories and expressed joy in caring for her and her siblings.
"I want to be the same kind of mother to my children as my mom was to me," she said.
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