Naperville boy's earnest love of mom wins contest
Every Thursday is mother's day in the Lipa household.
That's Dr. Maureen Fearon's day off from work, and she usually packs it full of activities with her three kids, from volunteering in their classrooms to ferrying them to their after-school activities.
"She has Thursdays off, so that's a day of fun for us," her son Danny, 10, wrote.
But today is Mother's Day with a capital M - and it's a special one for the Naperville family. Danny's essay about how much he loves his hardworking, fun-loving and perfectly reasonable mom ("Our chores are not overwhelming, most of the time") - decorated with a crayon drawing of "Mom" and "Me" swimming in the backyard pool - is the winner of Daily Herald's Mother's Day essay contest. His sisters, Mary Clare, 11, and Colleen, 7, also wrote sweet essays about their multi-tasking mom, known to burn the midnight oil going over patients' lab reports long after the kids are in bed.
"To think that she can be a doctor and a mom is amazing," Mary Clare wrote. "My mom is a magician in her own special way. My mom is my hero."
"All three are great kids, and I'm proud to be their mom," Fearon said.
Fearon is an internist at the Loyola Center for Health at Oakbrook Terrace. Her husband, Robert Lipa, is an electrical engineer.
It's a busy life. Danny, a fourth-grader at Ss. Peter & Paul School in Naperville, plays softball and basketball. Mary Clare does track, cross-country and volleyball - and credits mom with helping her perfect her serve. Colleen is in gymnastics and basketball, and all three kids take piano lessons.
Fearon and her husband lead a Cub Scout troop, and she'll be starting as a Girl Scout leader in the fall.
"Family comes first," Fearon said firmly.
Having a part-time work schedule helps. "And also, not getting much sleep," she said.
Fearon had seen an article about the contest in the Daily Herald, and "I thought it would be fun for the kids to join a contest like that and write an essay."
Danny sat down at the kitchen table with a pencil, paper and crayons and turned out his winning essay in 45 minutes. "I just thought back in the past of what she did for me," Danny said.
And that's why he loves her "24/7, 365 days and 52 weeks."
<center><img src="/graphics/flower.jpg"></center> <div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=292489"><B>More than 300 respond to Mother's Day essay contest</B> </a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=292488">Danny Lipa's earnest love of mom wins contest </a></li> </ul> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="/multimedia/?category=9&type=video&item=345"><B>Danny Lipa reads his winning letter</B> </a></li> </ul> <h2>More essays</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=292500"> <B>Cook County essays</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=292499"> More Cook County essays</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=292496"> <B>DuPage County essays</B> </a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=292498"> <B>Kane, McHenry County essays</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=291759"> More Kane, McHenry County essays</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=292502"> <B>Lake County essays</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=292501"> <B>Tri-City essays</B> </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>