What Would Yetta Gutnicki Do…

For those who know me a long time they may know of another Gutnicki; Yetta Gutnicki. There was a time that many people from different circles knew of my mother. Some knew her from her childhood, some from her work as a nurse, and some from other circles. It was always fascinating to hear about my mother. These days there are fewer people who knew of her. Subsequently, I must rely on my own memories to recall the days of old. Naturally pictures and visiting locations from the past is also helpful. Sometimes,I will reflect on a specific date or a certain amount of years ago such as 25 and 30 years ago.

As my own children grow older I often catching myself following my mother’s footsteps. As my wife and I prepared Simcha for his bar mitzvah we used various incentives to keep Simcha on track. We also expected our son to devote adequate time to his bar mitzvah studies so that he can be successful. At the same time we were very careful not to cause stress to Simcha during the process. Incidentally, a funny thing happened along the way. Simcha not only reached the expected milestones for his bar mitzvah; he exceeded it. He practiced his laining and made sure he can be heard by all of the participants. It was then I noticed some remarkable parallels.

I remember how my mother used incentives to keep my brothers and myself on track for our bar mitzvah as well as other tasks. More importantly, I also remember how my mother kept fighting for her children until the very end of her life. No matter what challenges she was facing nothing was ever more important than the welfare of her children. She always made time to help her children with their academics, listen to their problems, and always pushed and fought with every ounce of strength for the benefit of her children. The fighting aspect occurred to me as I reflected on the different challenges my wife and I have weathered for our children. As I think about the various memories of my mother it always involved helping her family in one form or another. For example, while she was ill with ovarian cancer, she was helping her own mother with illness, her children with their homework, and so on. So as I reflect on my mother’s life I ask, “What would Yetta Gutnicki do?” The answer is very simple. She would keep fighting no matter how steep the challenge. Giving up would never be an option.