We asked readers to tell us what they love about their moms. Kids from 17 to well over 70 entered The Herald’s Mother’s Day contest. Here’s the winner, who received a $100 gift card to Renee’s Contemporary Clothing in Everett. But there were many other heartfelt stories. You can find all of them here.
Daughter: Elizabeth Hankins
Mom: Peggy Olafson Curtis
The $100 gift card to Renee’s Contemporary Clothing went to Elizabeth Hankins and her mother, Peggy Olafson Curtis.
Hankins, 46, was adopted from a South Korean orphanage when she was 8. She said she cried when she wrote about the single woman who traveled halfway around the world in 1979 to give her a new life.
Hankins, manager of patient access at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, lives in Everett with her husband, Brandon, and 8-year-old son, Alexander.
Her mom, who lives in Mill Creek, was not available to be in the photo because she was vacationing in Iceland. She returns on Mother’s Day.
We asked Hankins to write some more about her mom:
“My mother, Peggy Olafson Curtis, has always been my hero. My mom, at the time a single woman, adopted me from an orphanage in Seoul, Korea, when I was 8 years old in 1979. I had a very rough start in life in Korea coming from a very poor home with my biological father being an abusive alcoholic. I ran away several times to get away from the abuse and the last time I ran away, I ended up in an orphanage.
“Once I came to the U.S. to my new home, my mom and I had a huge language barrier since I did not understand English. I remember constantly testing her to see if she, too, would give up on me as everyone else had before the adoption. I can’t imagine how difficult it was for her to raise a child from a foreign country as a single parent and working fulltime to support us. It scares me to think about what would have happened to me had she not adopted me.
“Generally, adoptive parents want to adopt a baby, but lucky for me, my mom wanted an older child. Adoption was not an easy process for her at that time, with a lot of red tape between the two nations. At times she was not sure my adoption was ever going to be finalized.
“I have always looked at my mom as being innovative. At a young age she went abroad and taught English in a foreign country. Having earned her master’s degree, she later worked as a teacher at a community college in the states. She had also worked at both Boeing and Microsoft as a technical writer. She is not only extremely smart, but she also is very talented. Her photography is an amazing gift that she has.
“I truly feel lucky every day with the life that I have now. I have a very supportive husband, extended family, and a wonderful son of my own. It all started with her adopting me. I owe it all to my mother. With her continuous patience and care, she gave me all the love that I have always wanted. Thank you, my beloved mom!”
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