My mom

Since I told you my grandmother's story yesterday, you now know part of my mother's story. She grew up the daughter of sharecroppers and I can't remember what order she was in her family. There were 9 children and I can't keep their ages straight. She was somewhere in the middle...not the oldest and not the baby. She loved to read as a child and still does. She would sit up late at night in front of the dying fire so that she would have some light to read by. She shared a room with at least two sisters...well, not just a room but a bed. She doesn't complain about this childhood. In fact, when my mom and her sisters get together they laugh and talk about their times growing up. They would stay around the table after dinner and talk for hours. When I was little I would crawl under the table so I could listen to their stories. I am sure that I know some stories that the other grandchildren don't know because I would crawl under there and soak it all in. I am glad I know those family stories. My mom and her siblings love each other intensely. Some of them had bouts with alcoholism, broken relationships, abuse from a spouse and children who have ended up in jail but they love each other and hold each other up...even when they don't particularly agree with the choices being made by that person at the time. They disagree about theology but that doesn't keep them from each other.
My mother was a loving and kind mother. She was always there for me and my brothers. I know that we weren't always easy but she stayed with us through it all. My dad was an alcoholic and he was not an easy dad(to put it mildly). My mom is an amazing cook...turnip greens, mashed potatoes, coconut cake, pork chops (on the grill or fried- the best), She was a nurse who went back to nursing school when I was a junior in high school. She worked nights for the whole of her nursing career because she has hearing issues. She has lost more than 50% of her hearing in both of her ears. She lost her hearing as a little girl and the teacher in the one-room schoolhouse that she went to thought she was stupid because she didn't talk clearly. One day this same teacher put a math problem on the board that even the older students couldn't do and my mom raised her hand to answer the question. Her teacher allowed her to give it a try and she got it right and the teacher's opinion completely flipped about her at that moment. My mother is bright and yet humble and always tells everybody how smart they are and never gives herself credit for her own brilliance.
My mom tells me I am beautiful, talented, a great Mom, a good wife, an amazing nurse, a creative artist, an incredible home decorator...and if you know me at all, you know that isn't true but it is so good to hear someone say those things about you every now and then.
My memories of my mom are: in the kitchen, at her sewing machine, at the kitchen table with her Bible, or the dining room table with my dad playing Scrabble, doing crossword puzzles, eating an apple while watching TV in the evening, jogging and walking while we rode our bikes, gardening, teaching 1st grade Sunday school and Wednesday nights and VBS, laughing with her sisters, writing letters, playing with babies, singing her heart out, hanging clothes on the line...I could go on all day....

Happy Mother's Day to my sweet mom!!!!