I like to keep this photo
of my Mom out where I can see it. She was heavy most of her adult life, most
likely from having us 9 children, but later in her life she lost the weight and
was very proud of herself for what she had achieved. She began going to various
music concerts with Donna, her good friend and hairdresser after Dad sold the
family farm in Rineyville, and relocated the rest of the family to St. Simon's
Island, Georgia. Donna would fix Mom's hair and get her all dressed up and they
would head out to their concerts. Dad was always invited, but would never
commit since the concerts were planned months in advance. He would always say
he didn't know what he would be doing at that time. I am so glad that Mom got
to experience some of the things she finally did. She was plucked from her life
as she knew it in South Louisiana, to spend a huge part of her lifetime on a
Kentucky farm, feeling her way as she went, to learn a whole new way of doing
things. Cooking in particular. Mom never drove, so that made it unhandy for her
as well, but she never let that hold her back. She could always find a way to
get where she or us kids, needed to go. Namely to church when the doors were
open or to the grocery store on Friday nights. She definitely, as all who knew
her will agree, did not have a shy bone in her body. She was always one to get
the job done, regardless as to what it was. I am grateful to have inherited
some of her strong attributes, but so grateful, as well, that I did not inherit
her temper and her extreme extrovert personality. She was a bit shy about a few
things, but very few.
I
could always count on Mom to come to my aid when I had a job of any kind to do.
I had raised a huge flock of chickens one year from chicks purchased at a
hatchery, and most of them turned out to be roosters. I called Mom up to help
me. She agreed to come, but later she said" DON'T EVER CALL ON ME TO DO
THAT AGAIN," I think there were about 20 roosters to kill and clean that
day. Then another time, Mr. Ford Dyer and his daughter Sarah Springer, whom I
was working for at the time,wanted a brick walkway. I told him that Mom and I
could do that. Mr. Dyer was blown away that me and my Mom were willing to
tackle that job, but we got it done. I have wondered, at times, if that walkway is
still being used today.
All of my sisters were just as handy and willing to tackle any task, as well. I am grateful, and I hope they are, for having had such a strong Mother. Many times, it takes a strong women to keep a marriage, and life in general, running smoothly. Mom was definitely
"One Strong Lady."
