His mother’s infectious laughter keeps Janson Cross giggling. But Maureen Cross’ adage “do your best” is perhaps what has led Mr. Cross to become a senior broker at Artex Intermediaries Ltd. and to become one of the founding partners of Zodiac Inc., a party planning organisation.

“My mom always encouraged me to better myself and an example of this was her pushing me to stay in school, so that more opportunities would be available to me,” he said.

“This lasted until I received my Master’s Degree.”

Whenever he had challenges of any kind, he said: “She always gave great advice and helped me out tremendously.”

When asked what were some of the things that made him feel special while growing up, he said: “She got me the hottest video game systems growing up and we went on some great vacations.”

So what are some of the things that Mr. Cross does and did to make everyday and Mother’s Day special for her, he joked: “I would say getting married and finally moving out of the house so she can have the house and car to herself.

“But all jokes aside, I was raised primarily by my mother. So I would say being respectful, doing what my momma told me and staying out of trouble for the most part.

“I made her job as a single mother fairly easy. Also, getting my Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree made my mom extremely proud. For Mother’s Day, my wife and I normally take our mothers out to brunch.”

He has several great memories of his mother, but he said this one came to mind.

“My mom enjoys life and brings that energy to others. She also has the most infectious laugh you will ever hear. Just hearing her laugh, makes me want to laugh.”