My Mother

My Mother - my friend, how I miss her.  She was my rock, my steady place, my Mom. 

She was born to two "country" people in a little town called Townsend, Tennessee.  She was one of four children.  Her parents, George and Jane, were simple country farmers.  They lived in a house that George built, no electricity, no indoor plumbing.  Neither of her parents were demonstrative.  No hugs, no kisses, but they did what they could for their children.

When my mother was 8 years old, she woke up one morning with pains in her arms and legs.  "Growing pains" - that's what her father said.  Her mother agreed, and sent her on to the fields to work.  She became frail and sickly.  She couldn't run anymore and when she worked too hard, her lips and fingernails would turn a deep blue.  When she left home and went to Knoxville business college, her teachers were concerned.  She went to the doctor and was told that her heart was been damaged by untreated rheumatic fever.  The "growing pains" would leave her forever a semi-invalid.

Getting pregnant with me was a miracle in itself.  Carrying me to term and delivering a healthy 7 pound baby was her "gift from God" as she called me.  There would be no more babies for her, but she always told me I "was enough for her".

She underwent her first open heart surgery in 1958 on Galveston Island.  My father was told it was likely that she would not survive the surgery.  He "fell" that day (see previous post about his problem) and contacted the funeral home, chose the casket, picked out the burial plot on the mainland, and contacted a minister!  My mother was furious when she found out and chided him for having so little faith.  She cancelled everything.  She knew she was going to make it....and she did.  I was sent to Tennessee to stay with my grandparents while she went through some rehab.  When I returned home it was to a "different Mom".  She had more energy, she had pink cheeks!!!!  She looked and felt great.  She took this as a new lease on life and she was determined to live her life to the fullest.

We moved to Tennessee in 1960, aftermy father lost another job due to the alcoholism.  We moved in with my grandparents, and later I came to understand just how hard that was for my mother to "come home" again. 

We lived there for three years, added electricity and indoor plumbing, put a new roof on the house and got a coal burning heater for the living room.

More on this later - I've got a meeting to go to tonight.