The best advice ever for moms, courtesy of Sr. Barbara, SHCJ

Listen to your daughters.

Our beloved Sr. Barbara Mullen, SHCJ gave that simple advice to Kathleen Lydon when she accompanied her 8th-grade daughter Sara on a Mayfield campus tour in 2015. Ever since, those four words have been the guiding credo for their mother-daughter relationship.
In a reflection to some 350 women who gathered in Pike for the Mother-Daughter Liturgy and Brunch, a cherished Mayfield tradition, Kathleen described how she wanted Sara to attend the same Catholic high school as her sister, not Mayfield.

Yet Sara thought otherwise.

Despite her mother’s expectations, Sara she said “felt so much excitement and joy from Mayfield.” When her parents told her she could select her own high school, she chose Mayfield—a decision that “reaffirmed and strengthened our relationship.”

“I realized that my parents were really listening to me and respecting my decisions,” said Sara, who is a junior.

The Lydons’ message touched many in attendance, who could fondly recall their own exchanges with Sr. Barbara, who passed away in June 2016.

Our Mayfield Mother-Daughter event, held a week before Mother’s Day, united our tight-knit Mayfield family for a morning of prayer and brunch, spring dresses and sweet pea centerpieces.

“Thanks to Sr. Barbara’s words, ‘listen to your daughters,’ I stopped looking at Sara as the younger daughter who would simply listen to me, because as her mom, I know best,” Kathleen said. “As I took Sr. Barbara’s words to heart I started to view Sara as an independent, strong woman.”

Sara knows she made the right choice and expressed gratitude to her mom for listening.

“I remember as a freshman,” she said, “that some days I would be having so much fun that I would actually pause and recognize how much joy going to Mayfield has brought me.”

Kathleen said that her daughter’s source of so much joy began by following Sr. Barbara's words of wisdom that speak to the heart of a Holy Child education.

“Living and learning with joy must begin with the act of listening,” Kathleen said. “Listening to others, listening to our inner voice and the voice of God.”
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Established in 1931, Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena, CA is a Catholic, independent, college preparatory school for young women grades 9-12. Noted for its rigorous academic program, which includes 28 Advanced Placement and Honors courses, Mayfield’s curriculum is underscored by a philosophy of educating the “whole child,” which also encourages commitment to and excellence in the arts, athletics, community service and spiritual growth. The nurturing environment at Mayfield Senior School allows each student to flourish in an atmosphere of personal attention.