I’m still here, I promise!
It’s been a busy, busy, busy couple of weeks at the Halfacre household,
of which I will discuss in my future blog, but today’s blog is short, sweet and
one of the most important. Today is my
Mom’s 51st birthday and I want to tell you a little bit about this
most amazing woman.
After the passing of their first child Barbara to heart
complications, my grandparents gave birth to my Mom. She would be the oldest of 5 children living
in a small two bedroom home in rural Kentucky.
The first few years of her life were spent in a home without indoor
bathroom facilities. To say the least, my
grandparents were not wealthy and getting by was often a struggle. My mom would dutifully get up every morning
before school, help her younger siblings, tend the family garden, go the
school, and then go to her job at a local restaurant called Southern Treat. She would go on to work at that restaurant long
after high school. It’s where she met
many friends, where she met my Dad, and where I would eventually spend many
days after school waiting on her to end her shift so we could go home. She would be dead tired but whenever someone
would come to the window and want to see her, she would wave with a big smile
on her face. She was full of sass, wit,
and sometimes mischievous and she pretty much knew every face that came up to
order, sometimes even reciting their usual meal to them before they could even
get it out. It was hard work, sometimes
stressful, but my mom loved her job and the people she met along the way.
I grew up at that little Mom and Pop restaurant, always
trying my best to imitate my mom. Propping
my hands on my hips and exclaiming such things as “Honey, NOOO!” and “Bless Its
heart”. Those were some big shoes to
fill. I was her shadow at work and she
would always let me help out, regardless of my clumsy little fingers or
incessant questions. I was her only
child, her “pride and joy” as she would say.
I was in middle school when my mom was diagnosed with Breast
Cancer. She endured extensive
chemotherapy treatments, 45 days of radiation and watched in great sadness as
each strand of hair fell out of her head.
I went with her to her local hair salon to shave her head before she had
to watch any more of her hair fall to the floor. I could tell it broke her heart. It broke mine too. Watching my mom go through that was one of
the hardest moments in my life. I couldn’t
fathom facing all of that and still going on about life as if nothing was wrong…
but she did. She continued to work when
she could, to take me to school, take me to fiddle lessons and help me buy a
dress for 8th grade graduation.
She was completely bald the day I walked across that stage, it was the
one and only day she ever wore a wig. She
suffered through hot flashes, an itchy hot wig, and clothes to cover her scars
and radiation burns in a hot auditorium before vowing to never wear a wig
again. Good riddance. My mom was the most beautiful bald woman
ever.
The next year my mom would lay her younger sister Angie to
rest and not long after would watch as her beloved Aunts passed on too. All of them had suffered from cancer and I
know deep down inside my mother wondered if she would be next. But she stayed strong and carried on.
She would face another loss when her sister Amy was
tragically killed in a car accident in 2010.
My mom watched so many of her loved ones pass on before her and I know
it took its toll on her. It was more
than enough heartache and devastation for one woman to have to endure.
My mom is still battling illness. She still misses her loved ones, as anyone
would. She still has struggles on a
daily basis and her stress level is usually through the roof. One thing remains the same, she is always, always, ALWAYS
there for me. If I’m having a bad day or
I need a shoulder to cry on, I know I can pick up the phone and she will make
me feel better. I know I can call on her
for anything. She shares in my triumphs
and in my struggles, in my successes and my failures. She has always been proud of me, supported
me, and loved me unconditionally.
I am so thankful for my Mom celebrating another birthday
today. Even though I’m 900 miles away, I
want her to know I’m celebrating her, not only today, but every day. She’s strong, resilient, and even a little
bit stubborn and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Happy Birthday Mom! I love you today and always!
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