Lucile A
Wichita KS
nominated by: Michael Alldaffer on 04/23/2008
 I have to take some time to talk about a mom who will never truly appreciate what I have to say…my mom. My mother, Lucile, is a tough woman. Good ole farm girl from central Kansas. Born during the depression (1938) the second of four kids herself…As a child you really hardly ever notice the world around you unless it involves you. You really have no idea what your parents go through, what sacrifices they make, what pains they suffer, until much later. Mark Twain once said that when he was 16 his parents knew very little, but when he was 21 he was amazed at how much knowledge they had gained. Hmmm. As a child the world is all about you, and it was in my case. As a matter of fact I fought long and hard for my world with three siblings. Two older brothers and a twin sister. I was the baby of the family, that may set the tone for you for the rest of the story. As I started off, my mother was tough. Not like you would think in the sense of a good fighter or could pull a car by a rope with her teeth. More in the sense of strength of will. She married a man she loved (Bob) who turned out to be not so nice-a-guy. He did give her four children, but that was about all. Looking back, I do not recall one positive memory of my father, but he is not the story here. My mom, with little education but fiery grit determination threw that man out of the house and took on the enormous task of raising us on her own. After a few years she was offered a job out of town, so she packed us all up and moved out to Northwest Kansas. Often she worked two jobs and was very involved in the community. Oh yeah, providing us with food on the table, doing laundry, and though I never got any of the new or interesting gadgets of the time, I never went without food. I also remember lots of small vacations and trips not even thinking of the burden of expense that put on the family budget, but she knew it was important to us… wow! I also remember hearing a story when she was training a new guy to work at the bank. Within a short period of time, he was promoted to her boss. She never let us hear her concerns or complaints about being more qualified for the job or complaining that she got passed over. To skip ahead a bit…all four of us kids are grown and with families. Oldest brother is a quality control guy in KC and other brother is a teacher in KC. (Twin) sister is a RN in Wichita, and I teach in Wichita. None of us are in jail, no criminal records…The odds were against us, but with the strength of will of one woman, we understood her gift to us. I said that my mom will never be able to hear what I have said here…She has Parkinson’s Disease and suffers from acute dementia. Conversations roll in and out day to day and hour to hour. She has good days and bad, but sitting with her you can still see that same spirit and strength of will in her eyes. And I hope that I can make her proud and try to carry on that same strength and determination with my child. Thank you MOM. |
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Very nice essay.