This is my mom at 16 years old. Only a few weeks before she got pregnant with my twin brother and I. My dad was her childhood sweetheart. They grew up on opposite corners of the same block. My stepmom once told me that my father only loved two women in his whole life and my mom was his first true love. When they were kids, my dad accidentally hit her in the face with a basketball (I'm sure he was showing off) and her jaw still pops to this day. Not a good omen but they did eventually get married. It was a "shotgun" wedding in my grandparents living room. My mom wore a white mini dress and white platform sandals. I loved that dress and her in it.
My parents moved into a single wide trailer in a trailer park and my dad went to work in the local steel plant where he still works to this day. They were broke. They were scared. 17 and 18 year old parents of twin babies. It would have been a miracle if their marriage had lasted.
In those days there was no child welfare, no WIC for single mothers. My mom had to juggle twin toddlers, a full time job, a home and dating and she had to do it all by herself. Now I'm not going to pretend that it was easy. I remember getting into a freezing car with no heater before the sun came up so she could drop us at the babysitters before work. I remember not getting picked up sometimes until after dark. I remember my mom crying from exhaustion and being home alone with my brother sometimes cuz my mom had to do what she had to do. Yes, it was scary and it was difficult but I didn't really know any different. You know, I didn't even know what "Divorce" was until I was like 10 years old and then I didn't even associate it with myself. Cuz I didn't really know what it was like to live in a home with two parents. I just thought that's the way things were.
My mom was goofy and a free spirit. I remember she would sit cross-legged on the couch with a towel on her lap. She would brush her long dark hair down over her face and then she would part it and roll it up into hot rollers. When she took out those rollers her curls would fall down to her shoulders and BOUNCE! I always thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
She would play hide & seek with us in the dark. She was an excellent hider. She would wait in her hiding place until we were almost frantic and then she would reveal herself and we would squeal with a mixture of delight and relief as she pulled us into her arms for big big hugs.
We didn't get lullabies, my mom pulled out her guitar and sang "Ghost Riders in the Sky." and "Rawhide". When the power would go out she would light an old candle in a tin and we would sit around the kitchen table and tell stories into the night.
I don't remember wanting for anything though I'm sure we did and knowing how much my brother and I liked to read she would spend money that I know she didn't have on STACKS of books so we never ran out of new reading material.
I have so many good memories of my mom but looking back I think the happiest time from my childhood was when it was just us. It must have been the hardest time for her but before my stepdad came, we were the focus of her ENTIRE WORLD, her whole motivation to succeed. She did WHATEVER it took to get us through.
My mom is tough, strong but beautiful and always smiling. She can sing like an angel and scream like the devil. She's goofy and has a wicked sense of humor and she loves to be different. She stands out from the crowd. She taught me my work ethic and how to keep going in the face of the worst life has to offer. And together, we have made it through.
I know she carries around her mommy guilt for having to work so much, for not knowing how bad things were with the "Stepdad from hell" or not knowing what to do about it if she did. And we had a lot of mommy-daughter knock downs but that was from pure fear and frustration cuz she just didn't know what to do with her out of control, rebellious daughter. But as far as mom's go? I think think she's perfect.
She reminds me through her example to always be myself. She makes me laugh hysterically and she gives me strength when I start to cave under my everyday pressures. She's a FANTASTIC grandma. But most important, through good times and bad, my mom has LOVED me and I have never doubted that love. NEVER.
Mommy, on this Mother's Day I just want to say THANK YOU! It's not enough, this little blog, but I can never repay you for the life you have given me and the things you have taught and instilled in me but I want you to know how proud I am that you are MINE and that I love you.
My parents moved into a single wide trailer in a trailer park and my dad went to work in the local steel plant where he still works to this day. They were broke. They were scared. 17 and 18 year old parents of twin babies. It would have been a miracle if their marriage had lasted.
In those days there was no child welfare, no WIC for single mothers. My mom had to juggle twin toddlers, a full time job, a home and dating and she had to do it all by herself. Now I'm not going to pretend that it was easy. I remember getting into a freezing car with no heater before the sun came up so she could drop us at the babysitters before work. I remember not getting picked up sometimes until after dark. I remember my mom crying from exhaustion and being home alone with my brother sometimes cuz my mom had to do what she had to do. Yes, it was scary and it was difficult but I didn't really know any different. You know, I didn't even know what "Divorce" was until I was like 10 years old and then I didn't even associate it with myself. Cuz I didn't really know what it was like to live in a home with two parents. I just thought that's the way things were.
My mom was goofy and a free spirit. I remember she would sit cross-legged on the couch with a towel on her lap. She would brush her long dark hair down over her face and then she would part it and roll it up into hot rollers. When she took out those rollers her curls would fall down to her shoulders and BOUNCE! I always thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
She would play hide & seek with us in the dark. She was an excellent hider. She would wait in her hiding place until we were almost frantic and then she would reveal herself and we would squeal with a mixture of delight and relief as she pulled us into her arms for big big hugs.
We didn't get lullabies, my mom pulled out her guitar and sang "Ghost Riders in the Sky." and "Rawhide". When the power would go out she would light an old candle in a tin and we would sit around the kitchen table and tell stories into the night.
I don't remember wanting for anything though I'm sure we did and knowing how much my brother and I liked to read she would spend money that I know she didn't have on STACKS of books so we never ran out of new reading material.
I have so many good memories of my mom but looking back I think the happiest time from my childhood was when it was just us. It must have been the hardest time for her but before my stepdad came, we were the focus of her ENTIRE WORLD, her whole motivation to succeed. She did WHATEVER it took to get us through.
My mom is tough, strong but beautiful and always smiling. She can sing like an angel and scream like the devil. She's goofy and has a wicked sense of humor and she loves to be different. She stands out from the crowd. She taught me my work ethic and how to keep going in the face of the worst life has to offer. And together, we have made it through.
I know she carries around her mommy guilt for having to work so much, for not knowing how bad things were with the "Stepdad from hell" or not knowing what to do about it if she did. And we had a lot of mommy-daughter knock downs but that was from pure fear and frustration cuz she just didn't know what to do with her out of control, rebellious daughter. But as far as mom's go? I think think she's perfect.
She reminds me through her example to always be myself. She makes me laugh hysterically and she gives me strength when I start to cave under my everyday pressures. She's a FANTASTIC grandma. But most important, through good times and bad, my mom has LOVED me and I have never doubted that love. NEVER.
Mommy, on this Mother's Day I just want to say THANK YOU! It's not enough, this little blog, but I can never repay you for the life you have given me and the things you have taught and instilled in me but I want you to know how proud I am that you are MINE and that I love you.
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