Barbie Herron’s experience with motherhood has not been easy.
She had her first son, Lyon, at the age of 17. When Lyon was just four years old — and Barbie 21 — he was diagnosed with cancer, forcing her into what she described as “survival mode” and “trying to put one foot in front of the other.”
Lyon is now 24 years old, and Barbie has two additional children, Bella, 19, and Harper, nine. Barbie, who has been described as “kind, loving, generous and loyal,” has been selected as the recipient of the 2016 Mother of the Year Rosie Award, given to a hardworking and deserving mother by The Malibu Times.
Barbie’s nomination was sent in by friend and Malibu resident Kim Ledoux.
“Barbie is so deserving,” she wrote. “She had to grow up quickly when Lyon was diagnosed with Gardner syndrome, and she is the most positive, brave, kind and giving soul out there.”
“We can chose to play victim to our circumstances or we can gather what we need to learn to be able to grow from that experience, and keep moving forward in order to help another,” Barbie shared with The Malibu Times. “No matter how hard life can feel at times, there is always someone out there who has it harder so we must stay in a place of gratitude.”
She explained that motherhood has taught her acceptance, patience and the importance of staying in the moment. Her favorite part of motherhood has been teaching her children through her own experiences, while letting them grow into the people they are meant to become.
“I honor and nurture their differences and who they are,” she said. “It’s not my place to dictate who they are to become.”
In his nomination, Lyon wrote, “She has battled through the hardest times that life could throw at her. She is the strongest, bravest woman I have ever known.”
Lyon shared that he would not be alive today if it wasn’t for his mother’s efforts to find the best doctors in the world.
“She is my inspiration and my best friend,” he wrote.
Barbie said that she feels like she grew up with Lyon.
“But I’ll put him in check when I need to,” she said with a laugh.
Barbie explained that she has a special relationship with all three of her children.
“My daughter [Bella], she’s everything that I wish I could have been,” Barbie said. “She’s doing everything on her own that I didn’t have the opportunity to do. Our relationship is so special — she inspires me. She’s super driven. She’s a little gem.”
“My nine-year-old son, he’s just my baby — he’s this little spark of light.”
“My mom takes care of me,” Harper wrote in the nomination. “She supports me at my games.”
Bella also had nice things to say about her mother in her nomination.
“She’s hardworking and has supported all of us alone forever,” Bella wrote. “She has gone through hardships and come out the other side an even stronger person.”
Barbie offered some advice to new moms: “Stay present and in the moment. It never gets easier, it just becomes different. See them for who they really are, not who you think they should be.”
“Malibu is so blessed to have her,” Ledoux wrote.
The prize package for the Mother of the Year includes gift cards to Kaishin Malibu, Tramonto, and Duke’s Malibu, a 60-minute massage and facial combo from Cure Med Spa Salon, tickets to the Canyon Club and Egyptian Theatre/Aero Theatre, a complete scrapbook kit from At The Blue Barn, a car wash from Buzz Wax Malibu, and more.
