Sandra L. Greis

is honored with a Brick from Jessica Lynn Greis.

My mother is my heroine. She once said that she thought her accomplishments and achievements didn't mirror the pedigrees and backgrounds of the individuals typically admired and touted as role models to follow. As I put pen to paper, however, I find that my mother is more than an individual to admire, more than a role model to follow. She is my heroine.

Born Sandra Lee Olson on October 8, 1946 in rural America, my mother grew up in the small farming town of Dwight, KS. Dwight was a town of 300 in 1946 and is a town of 300 today, in 1998. She graduated high school in a class of 16 people in the year 1964, and was an involved high school student: cheerleader, member of the marching band, Homecoming Queen, and ping-pong champion of Dwight. My mother went on to attend Kansas State University. She received her B.A. in Early Childhood Development in the spring of 1968. It was in college that she met my father, Barry Greis, and they were married in August, 1968 in Dwight, in a little church made of stone.

My mother experienced many successes in her fields of interest - early childhood education and women's issues - such as teaching preschool to children with special needs in Texas, Missouri, and Kansas; working in the Colorado District Attorney's office for the Victim's Assistance Program and volunteering for the Sheriff's Department Victim Witness Program as an advocate for victims of abuse and rape; and most recently serving as the Director of a preschool in Topeka, KS, for the past eight years.

My mother has a third field of interest, and that would be me. It has been - and is - through her relationship with me that I found my heroine. My mother is a continual inspiration to me, every day of every year. She sends me newspaper clippings of editorials and feminist column writers that speak to important political/social issues of the time. I cannot tell you how awesome our conversations are regarding such topics. She listens to me with an open heart and mind, and there is never any greater feeling of peace than knowing that she is there to hear whatever I have to say. My mother is honest with me, and non-judgmental. I am never afraid to talk to her. She has this smile that can light up your darkest moment and a laugh that is contagious and capable of healing a hurt or giving energy to a tired soul. My mother and I - we can sit together and laugh until we cry, just like little giggly girls do - those are some of my father's favorite moments.

My mother and I have been through a lot: we were stranded during a blizzard on a church floor. in Goodland, KS, with only lemon drops and an unbaked cherry pie to eat; and once we traveled across states in 100 degree weather in a 1963 Ford T-Bird without air conditioning, squirting water on each other with spray bottles to keep cool. She is the one that has sat up with me late at night when I had nothing to say but merely wanted company; she has moved me to college and different apartments; she has seen me off to summer debate camps and judged hundreds of debate rounds on weekends; she has rocked me as a baby; she has complimented me; she has always supported me; she has been my greatest fan, even at my worst moments; and she has been the one to sing old 50's songs with me all through my life, even today.

My mother is so much to me: a provider; a nurturer; a communicator; a best friend; a leader; a spiritual being; a feminist; a mother; a soul-mate. She is beauty, passion, power, love, strength, wisdom, and all other qualities so wonderful and precious in life. She is the one that I have long admired and aspired to be. My mother is my heroine.

Submitted by Jessica L. Greis

September 14, 1998