My Mom Was One Strong Lady

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."