Mom was part of a big family living in the poor world that existed for coal miners. She told me they often relied on their garden for food and if it failed they went hungry. I was told that her first pair of new shoes was when she graduated high school. An older sister bought them for her. After she graduated she went to Louisville to go to secretarial school. Back then, families would let the girls board with them for housekeeping and childcare chores. The family mom stayed with was my dad’s Aunt Peach. Aunt Peach fell in love with her and so did my dad.
My mom was such a strong woman. Military wives have to be. My dad was at sea at least 6 months out of the year. She was mother and father to us most of our lives. My brothers are twins; they led her a merry chase when they were babies. I heard all kinds of stories including the fact that they went streaking through the neighborhood after a bath, with mom trying to figure out who to catch first (of course they always went in different directions). When Dad was home, she said she would call him to come get the boys – she would shut them in the hall closet and wait at the door until my dad came up the front walk. She usually didn’t have any money, but would just walk around or go to a park for a break. I’m surprised she even considered having another baby after them. I think she was hoping for a sweet little girl to dress up. Instead she got me, a tomboy who hated dresses and getting her hair done. She did, at least, get to dress me up every Easter and Christmas in frilly dresses, patent leather shoes, hats and white gloves. From Cub Scouts to Eagle Scouts, Brownies to Seniors; she kept our lives busy.
When Dad started getting sick, she kept our lives as normal as possible. I didn’t really understand what he was going through for many years. By the time I was a freshman in high school he was in a nursing home. She went and spent a good portion of the day with him almost every day. She was so devoted to him. He was only 51 when he passed away.
Mom went back to college and got her degree in history. She taught swimming at the local community center. Later in life she became a bit of a tumbleweed herself; moving from place to place. She loved her family fiercely even if she didn’t always show it well. I always hated that I wasn’t the beauty she was, I look more like my dad, but I am so thankful that I inherited her strength. Mom lived to be 81 and was buried in Arlington with the love of her life.
