Advice from Glamour’s Inaugural ‘Your Mom of the Year’

“Growing up with a mom who just seems to be able to do [everything] all the time, there’ll be moments when I’m really busy and I’m like, okay, I need to channel Lynda right now,” Walker says. “I don’t know how she does it.”

In addition to her job as a mom, Limón has a full caseload—which often feels like a personal crusade on behalf of her clients. “I do divorces, so [my clients] are navigating a very difficult time fighting over money and kids. It’s so much more than a case to me. It’s people’s lives and more importantly, people’s children,” Limón tells Glamour. She’s spent 30 years focusing her attention and energy on helping families in her community make it to the other side of these challenges. “I know I can help people with the work that I do so that they can continue to raise really healthy, successful children.”

Limón is also an active mentor in the legal community. “I feel strongly that I should pay it forward and be a role model for women and people of color,” says Limón, who participates in Color of Justice, an immersive program for high schoolers interested in law hosted by the Alaska Native Justice Center.

Limón has somehow also found the time to build an impressive resume as an endurance athlete, logging thousands of miles over dozens of races and fighting to support girls and women in sports. In 2007, she competed in The Gold Nugget, the largest women-only sprint triathlon in the country, which is dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls through sport, and was immediately hooked. (The exact number of races she’s competed in eludes Limón but she can recall: over a dozen sprint triathlons, seven Olympic distance triathlons, several half Ironmans, three full Ironmans—plus, half marathons, full marathons, and a 50-mile run in celebration of her 50th birthday in 2016.)

Where Limón discovered the ability to manipulate time in order to be able to accomplish all this remains a mystery.

All of this memorably shaped the way Limón’s daughters, who both graduated from Howard University, viewed their mom. “My mom does not give herself enough credit,” Walker says. “I feel like moms in general are really quick to criticize themselves about not being a good mom instead of hyping themselves up for how great of a mom they are.”

But it’s not all about the résumé, Walker says. Ultimately, she wanted to honor her mom for the sense of warmth and safety Limón created at home.

“Everything we needed, she knew what to do, she knew how to address it. I never felt judged by her,” Walker says. “She’s always known what we’re capable of and when we haven’t reached that potential. She’s always encouraging us to put our best foot forward, but also listening to us when we need a break.”

Ever since Walker can remember, Limón has been the person she’s gone to for advice, which is spot on. “When I was in seventh grade, she made me take all that crazy bronzer off my face, which I think I’ll forever be thankful for,” Walker says with a laugh before turning serious. “[She taught me] if you want something, you can go get it. If you put in the work, the goals that you want to achieve will come to fruition.”