Maye Musk fits this description of a mother. Her son, the world’s richest tycoon Elon Musk, is creating ripples across the globe with his business moves. It is her rock-solid determination and ‘never-give-up’ attitude that the world now sees in Elon.
Elon Musk with mother Maye Musk.
It was this attitude that propelled the Canadian-South African American supermodel to walk through the most difficult times while raising her three children. At 74, the jet-setting, charming Maye has a tight-knit circle of family and friends. But things were not always so easy or glamorous for her. Her weight issues as a plus-size model and ageism in the modelling industry were among the challenges life threw at her. Maye established a career for herself as a respected dietitian. She had to start over in eight different cities across three countries and two continents, but her indomitable spirit helped her make her way through it all.
Another strong leader, who has come into the limelight in the last few months, is Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian President’s unshaven face has captivated the world as the symbol of his country’s defiance and resilience. The former actor and comedian credits his engineer mom Rimma Zelenskaya for giving him his moral compass.
President Zelenskyy posted an elaborate message to his mother and wife along with a picture of him with his mother. He wrote, “To my mother and the mother of her children, well I can safely say that I am the happiest person on earth! Thanks to you, my dear mother Rimmo and my dear wife Oleno. Both are Volodymyrivni. Both are the best in the world! (Sic).” This Mother’s Day, we bring to you mothers who are no less than Maye Musk and Rimma Zelenskaya, in terms of their struggles in life, and how they negotiated tough roads to become successful and raise beautiful children.
President Zelenskyy with family.
‘Always there for us’
My mom (Sangita Reddy) means the world to me, and is both my mentor and best friend. I’m constantly amazed by how, despite being incredibly busy and running one of the largest healthcare companies in the world, she is always there for the three of us. We can talk to her about anything and she is always supportive, guiding us in the right direction.
She always encourages us to achieve more and that’s really what drives us to to keep pushing our boundaries and set our sights on achieving better results, and fosters in us the spirit to think beyond what is asked of us.
She truly makes the three of us feel special and blessed and everyday she shows us what unconditional love looks like.
Live life to the fullest
Suchitra Pillai and family. (Twitter)
Suchitra Pillai dons many hats — electronics engineer, model, theatre, film and television actress. She says the toughest challenges she faced as a working mom was time management, dealing with the guilt of being away from the family and not knowing for sure the right way to have sensitive discussions with her child. The biggest misconception about motherhood is that it’s ok for a nanny to take your place in bringing up your child. No mom can rest easy doing that, she stresses.
