In the novel, The Red Tent, Anita Diamant wrote, “If you want to understand any woman you must first ask about her mother and then listen carefully. [...] The more a daughter knows the details of her mother’s life—without flinching or whining—the stronger the daughter”. Our first blog assignment it to write 300-500 words on our mother(s). I am not sure 500 words can do justice to my mothers (my mom and nana).
I guess I will start with my nana. The baby of nine, she was born strong and died strong. She taught my mom how to love and be a mother and she taught me how to as well. She was always a fighter. We called her Annie Oakley. She always had a gun. She shot snakes and coyotes, and anything else that threatened her dogs or garden. She had a love for making things. She made me dresses when I was little and made my brother a stick horse. She died a slow death and I hate those who let her suffer. But even in her suffering she never let her spirit die. She fought and taught us that no matter how hard life gets, it’s going to get better, and never quit fighting for what you want, because one day you will get it.
As for my own mother, well she has taught me a lot. She has taught me that the only way a woman can be is strong and independent. My mom has been a single mom for the past 17 years. Nine years ago she became paralyzed. She had a vertebrae rupture and puncture her spine. For over a year my mom was in a wheelchair. But she never let that stop her. She still did everything we needed her to. She still came to show choir performances and baseball games. She never let us know how bad it hurt her to be the mom she always had been but she never stopped. She never let us give up on something we wanted because she was sick. My mom by prayers, hard work, physical therapy, and three surgeries is out of her wheel chair. She never once gave up or let my brother and I give up. She stands beside us when no one else does.
My mothers have been the biggest blessing I have ever received, next to my son. If not for my mothers I would be a lost soul. They have made me a strong woman. They have made me a woman who knows what she wants and what she has to do to get it.
The portion of this post that talks about your grandmother really hits home with me. As I said in my blog on mothers, my memaw and I are extremely close too. Although mine has not passed away, she too has taught me how to persevere when the going gets tough. She displayed a lot of courage and fortitude after losing my mother and then my grandfather shortly thereafter. Sweetest woman on the face of the earth. And, funny enough, I've seen her shoot quite a few snakes too.
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