This past weekend I had the honor to share my story with the participants of the Dan Devine Memorial Golf Tournament at the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, AZ. Dan Devine was the head football coach at Notre Dame in the late 1970s and some of his children live in the Phoenix area, with all of his children in town this past weekend for the Notre Dame Club of Phoenix event that honors their father. The money raised supports scholarships established by the Devine family and the ND Club of Phoenix to send deserving students to Notre Dame. What an honor to participate in and support (although not by playing golf!) such a worthy cause.

As with each talk, I field questions – many of which are the same, but there is always one or two that particularly catch my attention because I have not been asked it before. This past weekend the unique question came from my oldest son. Both of my boys (and my husband) attended the event with me on Saturday evening; neither of them had heard or seen me speak before.

I had asked James and Edward to sit with me while I signed books; James collected the money (proceeds of which were donated to the scholarship fund) and Edward made sure there were plenty of books on the table. As I met, talked and signed a book for each person in line, I was aware of my oldest son’s gaze. He watched, as he always does, very carefully. At one point he leaned over and sheepishly (and somewhat shyly) said, “Uh mom, you’re kind of a little bit famous.” I smiled at him, because this is not a term with which I associate (nor view) myself, but I understood what he meant when he followed with, “When all these people go away, you won’t really be famous anymore, right?”

I remember visiting my dad as a Judge in his courtroom, and it was funny to see him act and talk in such a formal manner. James viewed me the same way: his mom, but not the mom/person he knows…and he wanted to make sure that person would return. Yes, James. I’ll always be just mom. But I also think it is important for our children to see who we are, when we aren’t just their parents. Clearly those glimpses into our “other” roles make quite an impact, even if we do not realize it.