I Am Marion Inserra

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, grandmas, and motherly figures out there! Today I would like to highlight one of the greatest moms I know, Marion Inserra, my great grandmother! She has been a highly requested woman and I am so honored I am able to share her with you all today!

Marion Inserra was born and raised in Chicago, IL, where she graduated from McKinley High School. After high school she attended George Williams College where she studied health and physical education. While at George Williams she met her husband Russ and the two were married for over 60 years until he passed in 2011, but the love continues to live through their kids, grand kids, and great grand kids.

Over the past year I have waited to speak with my great grandmother for this article because I wanted to feature her on a day that honored wonderful mothers like herself. She is the mother of 11 successful children, with plenty experience in grandmother and great grandmothering. Her greatest advice to all the mothers out there is to have patience, a sense of humor, and organizational skills. Looking back she did admit to times getting hard, however she expressed she had a lot of fun along the way. For those with or without kids there is a lesson to be learned here; things can and will get hard but, don’t let that stop you from having fun. Yes the road of life can be rough and full of surprises but, Marion got 11 wonderful gifts out of it, think about what you can get out of your life if you once you start living it too! With that being said, Marion attributed her greatest achievement to raising her 11 children. As for all the young moms out there on this holiday, remember to enjoy your baby while they’re still little. Marion expressed “They grow up so fast!” Even for us who don’t have kids, enjoy what you have now before it’s gone, because time flies.

When asked, she explained to me that one of the hardest things for her to overcome was learning how to talk to different people. She explained how it was challenging for her to go to diners or events and talk to people she wasn’t familiar with. I’m sure a lot of us can relate to the uncomfortable feeling of talking with new people. According to Marion, the best way to overcome this challenge is to continue to talk to people you don’t know because eventually you will become more comfortable around others and I couldn’t agree more. So often people let fear get in the way of their everyday lives, however if we could just overcome those fears we have, we could have the joys of experiencing so much more. Take my great grandmother as a perfect example, by overcoming her fear she has acquired tons of interesting friends and companions (I would know, when I go visit her I get to meet all the wonderful people she is acquainted with). Had she not overcame the fear who's to say she so popular and so lucky to have all different kinds of people in her life today.

Marion nominated her greatest female inspiration to Dorothy Day, an American Journalist who is best known for how she integrated her social activism with the Catholic traditions. One of her biggest achievements was starting a place for the poor to live and work in. Marion expressed how Ms. Day had a big influence on her and her volunteer work. For those who don't know she started the SVDP food pantry in her own community and has dedicated a lot of time to various other kinds of volunteer work. Through it all Marion expressed she couldn't have done it with out the continuous support she received from her husband, whom she proclaimed as her biggest supporter.

I personally am so happy I was able to share my great grandmother with you all today, she has been a huge influence in my life and a wonderful example of what a strong, thoughtful and caring woman looks like. I am so lucky to have her in my life. I hope all the moms out there have a fantastic Mother’s Day and thank you for taking the time out to give this article a read! Have a great day to all the rest of you as well, tell your important female figures you love them today!

Marion Inserra has been nominated by many people to be featured on I Am Woman and I am thrilled to have been able to publish their request. If you know of someone you'd like to see featured, please be sure to send me an email to iamwoman.www@gmail.com with contact information for the nominee and I will be sure to reach out to them!

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