Thanks to Mom..

Moms are pretty special people. In my last post I thanked my brother and the part he has played in my life. Now I will focus on my Mom or Mama, as I have called her most of my life. She hates being called 'Mother' she says it sounds old. Anyway, Mama had a pretty tough job after Daddy passed away. He was the primary breadwinner in the family and he definitely was the disciplinarian of the family. My brother and I like everyone else were haunted when we were younger of threats like, "Wait till your Daddy gets home". YIKES! Mama hated disciplining so bad she would go to their bedroom whenever my brother and I got a spanking fram Dad. I think it hurt her feelings to see us get spanked.

So as you can imagine we were a little loss after Daddy died. But, let me tell you my little Mama grew into her little 5 foot frame pretty fast. The year after Daddy died we moved in with my Nannie and Papa for a year. We ended up moving after that first year. Before Daddy's death Mama and Daddy had already planned on moving, So Mama just completed what they had already planned and we moved into a double wide mobile home on a piece of land they had already picked out. Mama had a really hard time at first living by ourselves. At night she would get scared. I remember a couple of nights she would wake us up and we would go stay with Nannie and Papa because she was so terrified of being by herself. I think Papa finally set his foot down on that one and strongly encouraged Mama that she had to learn to be independent. So Mama became, Mama and Daddy. She didn't do too bad of a job. We had our very own home, a nice size piece of land, and Mama worked very hard to make the yard look good.

Financially things were a struggle for Mama. I remember she was looking for a job that would pay good enough. Night after night she practiced typing, this went on for several weeks as she tried to get her words-per-minute high enough to get most office jobs. She finally did get a better job but money was still tight. I remember we did not have much excess but we never went without. One Christmas I wanted a guitar and my brother wanted a keyboard. Mama was not able to go buy them brand new but she bought them from a local pawn shop and that was good enough for us. Our first bicycle, well we had to share it but it came from the same pawn shop. I remember for our 10th or 11th birthday party Mama told us we could have a birthday present or she would throw a party for us at the skating rink. So we chose the party. We had a great party with all of our family at the local skating rink. Another Christmas was pretty tight, Mama said we were either going to have a Christmas tree or Christmas presents and it was our choice. I think we decided on the tree but somehow Mama found the money to get a couple of small presents for us too. Even though things were strained I don't think it bothered my brother and I too much. I think we just knew it was different because Daddy was not around.

Sometimes, Mama had to be Daddy. For example when we would go fishing at the pond near by and catch small bass to bring home and clean. Mama would be the one that would have to go outside with us and make sure her two little bass pros were doing everything right. This had previously been Daddy's job. He was a very avid fisherman. Once Mama had to kill a snake that my brother and I found in her flower bed. Another job that usually fell on Daddy; Mama had to step up to the plate even though she is deathly horrified of snakes.

Things did get a little easier when Mama met Donnie. I think he helped her out some financially. I know for a fact he helped with Christmas. After Mama met Donnie we got gifts like a basketball goal, brand new 15 speed mountain bikes, new BB guns, and later 12 gauge shotguns. Of course later we ended up moving in with Donnie as I had mentioned in my first post. I do not agree with every decision my mama has made. But she was the only support we had growing up. She had very little support until Donnie. She did a great job anyway. I don't think she gives herself enough credit even today, for what she went through. Ever thing I have today, is in part owed to my mom. I know she does not feel that way. I would be nothing if it wasn't for her support and desire to give my brother and I a good life.

Thank you is just not enough or you Mama. I love you and hope that you are proud of who I am. And, I hope I continue to make you proud.


Be notified when I update my blog