Leota Ann Niederhauser

On July 5th, 2007, just two days short of her birthday, my momma passed away. She would have been 77 on 7/7/07. She had suffered a series of strokes over the last 14 months. I miss her like crazy!!!
My mother was my teacher. She handled every situation with grace and taught me many, many lessons about life, business and relationships. She taught me from a very early age, unbeknownst to either of us. She taught me how to work hard, keep my nose to the grindstone and make do. She taught me by example. She never stopped working... never wanted to. She taught me about loving what I do and doing what I love. She taught me how to treat others as I would like to be treated and to cover my own rear end, because it wasn't likely anyone else was going to do it for me. She taught me how to never give up and to find a way to make things work, no matter how impossible they might seem. She taught me how to admit wrongdoing and do the right thing. She taught me to listen to the positive, learn from the negative and move forward. She taught me how to stand up for myself, fend for myself and not back down from adversity. She taught me about love and how hard it can be, about reality and how hard it can sting. She taught me to trust, but also to question. She taught me that I was as good as anyone else, but not better, that I had much to offer the world, but not to step on toes on my journey.
My mother is still teaching me now and will likely never stop. She's teaching me about taking a good hard look at myself and my situation and about making steps to better myself. She is teaching me to look forward without losing what I've gained from the past, teaching me to move ahead and leave a trail. I'll continue to try to follow her trail. She left a good one.