My Ma'ma'

So as promised her is a post about my mother (I tenderly call her ma'ma'). As I mentioned yesterday my mother had me when she was 17 years old. She turned 18 a month after I was born, so needless to say she was very young when I was born. But fortunately she had great support from grandparents on both sides of the family. When I was three my mother recommitted her life to the Lord and from that point on was faithful to involve me and my brothers in the life of the church. Her father was an elder in the church. My birth father did not go to church with us although he never kept us from going. My mother always made sure we had the best she could provide. We had a lot of fun times with aunts, uncles and cousins. One of my favorite Christmas memories was a year when I could not decide between a Betsy Wetsy doll and a Bride doll, so I told Santa to bring me either one and to my surprise I got both of them!! My mom always made all the holidays very special.

My mother has always been a very private person so I will not post what happened in our family that resulted in a divorce when I was 12. Through no fault of my mother she was left with three children to care for and only a high school diploma. She received a whopping $150.00 per month child support. but she got a job as a Head Start aide and provided for us the best she could. I don't remember the time frame but she eventually became the secretary for our church. Then when I was 15 the Lord brought a wonderful Christian man into her life and ours and they were married. As I said yesterday we became a family of 6.

From the get go we were family, not a step family. We never referred to each other as "step".
My parents made sure that we had open communication and we had family "pow-wows" where everyone would go around the table and say what was on their mind. If you were the object of someone else's concern you were not allowed to argue or defend. You just made a commitment to try and do better in the future. And they let us bring up things about them as well. It worked for us.

My mother has always been my greatest supporter and cheerleader. Since I didn't get married until I was 36, she was my travel partner. We had some great trips together and have some very special memories. My favorite was a fall tour we took that included Bush Gardens. I got her on a water ride promising her that we would not get wet (because I didn't at Six Flags) but we got absolutely swamped! And if you ever meet her you will have to ask her about the man that offered to take our bags at the New Jersey airport ("my car is just out back" he said, and guess who was going to follow?)

There is so much more I could tell you about my mother, but I will close by just saying I really don't know how I would have made it through these past 28 months without her. She has taken such good care of me. Not just physically (although she has worked endlessly at my house) but emotionally and spiritually all the while also taking care of my dad whose health has taken a drastic turn for the worse in the past year. She has an inner strength that I have always admired. Her own life has been riddled with tragedy (her father died when I was 5, her mother died of leukemia when I was 19, she lost a sister to tuberculosis when she was 16, she lost a brother, niece, nephew, and brother-in-law all in one car accident, she lost a sister to an alcoholic driver, she lost a sister to cancer) and yet her faith in the Lord has remained strong.
God has always been at the center of her heart. I am thankful that she showed us what a surrendered life looked like. She did not just "talk the talk" but she walks it in unconditional love for all of us to see. She has sacrificed so much for me, but always makes me think it is her pleasure to do so. Never guilts me about anything. I am so very blessed!

I love you ma'ma'. Happy Belated Birthday Post!