Mothers day came and went and I did not get to mention my mothers gifts to me.

I was looking at a site on the internet and they had a competition for what did your mother give to you?

I thought about this all day. I thought I would begin by posting some of her attributes that I hope to say I have received from watching her raise her family.

My mother was a mom to 11 kids, and for 25 years a wife to a difficult husband. My dad was a good man but he had a hard job trying to keep up with what had become a large family in no time. He had many jobs and many of them did not carry insurance as that during that time of life was not a standard.

Our family ranged between the years of the late 40's then entered the 50's into the 60's and on into the 70's.
 So as you can imagine there were many changes that came over time.

The war was just the beginning When she was married. A gorgeous bride, and her dashing sailor husband. Soon my oldest brother was born, he was premature, and sickly, he had heart problems and had one of the earliest heart surgery ever performed on a baby. She lost her next babies a set of twins, and then my oldest sister was born, a family was beginning all during a war overseas, and she had become a mother with an absent father. Her dedication to raising her babies was beautiful. She was graceful, and giving. She would have visits from her husband, and as a result another pregnancy, she was patient during the difficult days of restrictions and rationing. She had no idea this sacrifice would serve her later years when things got tougher. 

Three soon became four, and then five.
During this time my father had changed ships so many times. She would endure the telegrams stating he had been  torpedoed, and/ or his ship was  sunk. Every time a ship change his pay was delayed. I never read where she complained in the letters she wrote to her sailor. I found in her letters a concern

and caring to what he was having to endure over seas. He was burned badly while saving other crew men on one sinking, and then he ended up with pneumonia as a result.She found the hardships he endured were more than she could add to. She never wrote and told him she was being foreclosed on. The house with 5 children was about to be taken by the bank.

 Word had gotten out at a local USO that this was to occur, and the airmen of Lowery Airfield collected their pay and saved my mom and dads house. This was posted in the local paper the Rocky Mt. News.
And that is when my father first learned of the problems back home. My mom was gracious with thanksgivings to those that helped her through this time. The war was ending but the Korean conflict was beginning, he was finishing his tours as a sailor and she now had been a single parent for many years.

The change of direction the family of now six kids  had to make to accommodate a father figure was just the beginnings of difficulties. He had to get a job, and find a way to pay and house this ever growing family. The little house that was saved by the airmen, had become too small. A new location with a built in business seemed the perfect answer. They had found a house with a water system that provided water to 100 homes. Our family was at this time 6 kids strong, and not long after moving there was an additional member. That would be me. It was the mid 50s'. Jobs he had were many but  included the care of 100 homes to provide water for. The family had become a business, and he in ways treated the older members like partners instead of sons and daughters.
He used the kids for chores of collecting and meter reading.

It was not all work though, He liked to travel, and would always find a way to be near water, or on a lake, He would provide family times of adventures like a road trip in a old school  bus converted to a camper. During one of these adventures she was cook, laundry service, baby tender, shopper, and many more things. I don't remember her being out of sorts or feeling that she could not handle any crises  This  trip was to the west coast from Colorado. It always seemed that things could not go easy, and the bus broke down and My mom had to gather all our possessions and get us home in one piece. I remember a train trip that seemed fun to me but must have taxed her because of 8 little people relying on her. it was not long and another 3 babies came along. It was a taxing situation for a family to find work during this time. Family difficulties such as open heart surgery on my younger brother were just adding to the pile of hardships my mom and dad had building. His job situation, her family life demanded more than they could survive and after 25 years the cracks were too deep to repair.

My mom who had never worked began  the job search her self. Scared, and now alone with 8 mouths to feed and bodies to put clothing on. She had a few jobs and finally landed one that she worked many years. The hours were hard, teen-agers were harder, and she never lost her gracious nature. Many times we had very little in ways of food and clothes, but she endured.  She always prayed and took us to church, she provided with out complaint, and she survived the raising of the rest of the family. She gave to us first, She prayed for us first, She let us complain first, She held her head high, and I found that she was one of the strongest persons that could have ever influenced my life. I loved my mom and in dedication to her.
Happy Mothers day Dear dear mother. I miss your smiling face.