The Influence of Eleni Gatzoyiannis
By Kathy Hills

Few people have impacted my mothering than the life of Eleni Gatzoyiannis, a Greek woman and mother to five children, who sacrificed her life for the safe escape of her children during the Greek civil war of the late 1940s.  As recounted by her son Nicholas Gage, in the book Eleni, he describes a life of complete devotion to her children in the absence of her husband who had immigrated to the United States.  The crime of her heart led to her arrest, trial, torture and execution.

What is most extraordinary is that Gage was only eight years old at the time of his mother's execution.  In just eight years, his mother Eleni, made such an impact on her son; it causes me to examine what kinds of impressions I am leaving on the hearts of my children.  If I died today, would they remember me as fondly as Gage remembers his mother?  He is quoted saying, "I knew I was the center of my mother's life."
Would my children think of me as being someone who loved them unconditionally?  Even though Gage took years to research the life and circumstances of his mother's capture, torture and execution, it was his eight year old heart that fueled the passion with which he attacked his project.   That passion led him to find the man who murdered his mother.

Every single day I have the opportunity to write on the hearts of my children, influence future world changers, and impact future generations.  I have learned the value of that opportunity and not to take it for granted.  I can choose to listen them, teach them, guide them.  I can choose to turn off the computer and do something fun with them.  I can choose to impart wisdom to them by sharing my mistakes.   Making memories, keeping traditions alive and saying "yes" more often than "no" are things I can consciously do to be the kind of mother my children deserve.  Thank you, Eleni Gatzoyiannis, for showing me exactly how important a mother is.