My mother insisted my brothers and I call her Jo. Not Ma, Mom, Mommy, or even Mother: just Jo. Her name was Joanne Sargent Shirley. In doing research for my autobiography, Perhaps, I learned that Jo called her father Arthur; it followed that she might want us to call her Jo.
What I hated about my mother was that she was an alcoholic. What I loved about her was that she read to us often, imparting a love of books that is with me to this day. She also stressed the value of a good education, and expected us to get good grades.