Mary Reed and daughter, Emma McMahon
I was reading news about the shooting victims in Arizona and came across a story about Mary Reed. Mary Reed did everything she could to protect her 17 year old daughter from being hurt during the attack on Representative Gifford and all who were within shooting range of her. Mary’s daughter had been a congressional page for Gifford over the summer. They were at the event to simply get a picture. Mary pressed her daughter up against the building and took three bullets for her. Surprisingly Mary will survive. She said she was like a mama bear.
As a woman and a mother, I understand that protective mode that took over Mary. We all would do anything to protect our children. It’s hard to fathom being put into a situation like Mary was in, but I’m sure instinct took over every part of her to bring her to the point that she just knew she had to protect her baby. Mary is a hero to me. She is the virtue of all mothers and a testament to what women will do for their children.
I haven’t heard anything about Mary this week. I’ve only been hearing things about politicians and pundits talking about how this will play out politically. I have always thought of my own mom as a hero. She had 14 babies with 10 of them being boys. I’ve always joked that raising all those boys automatically made her a candidate for sainthood. My mom was my single best cheerleader. She always made me feel like I could do things that I, myself, doubted I could do. She helped give me the confidence to do many of the things that now define me in my life. Mary’s daughter, Emma, knows just how much her mother, Mary, would do for her. This has to be somewhat of a defining moment for young 17 year old Emma. We all say we would take a bullet for our child. Mary took three and stayed standing pressing her young daughter into the building praying for the carnage to stop.
I salute Mary and all moms today. The world has many problems and unfortunately we cannot protect our children from some of the ills of society or the choices that they may make in life. However, when push comes to shove we will all want to think that we could be a mama bear just like Mary.