God truly blessed me with "Another Mother". She's been in my life since before I was born as she was my mother's best friend for almost 50 years. They raised children together, they shared secrets as best friends always do, and they both had wonderful husbands who were also very close friends. When one had surgery or was in the bed sick, the other stepped in and helped out. Cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, looking out for each others children, doing things they trusted each other to do. When one cooked a grilled cheese sandwich, the other shared it. If one heated up a bowl of soup, they split it between two bowls. If one was shelling peas for the freezer, the other helped. I can remember coming home from school to find a newly upholstered chair in the living room. Mama just decided she wanted it covered and Kathlean came to help get the job done. It looked like it had been done at an upholstery shop. These two gals could do anything they set their minds to....together! There was nothing fancy or pretentious about their friendship. They loved each other as only true friends can do.
I learned how to dance the twist to Elvis music back in the early 60's out in her front yard with the record player turned up loud. I slept with her when mama had surgery and wasn't at home for several nights. When mama died in 1995, Kathlean was there for me and my family. We had lost our mama. She had lost her best friend. And though she was always around while I was growing up, her presence has become even more prevalent in the past few years. I can count on five fingers the people I know who have the gift of unconditional love and she's one of them. She loves me, no matter what. Her wisdom is uplifting as she speaks exactly what comes across her mind. I never doubt what she is trying to tell me and, as I get older, I try to pay closer attention. Her 89 years on this earth have proved to be a valuable tool for my own life.
I learned how to dance the twist to Elvis music back in the early 60's out in her front yard with the record player turned up loud. I slept with her when mama had surgery and wasn't at home for several nights. When mama died in 1995, Kathlean was there for me and my family. We had lost our mama. She had lost her best friend. And though she was always around while I was growing up, her presence has become even more prevalent in the past few years. I can count on five fingers the people I know who have the gift of unconditional love and she's one of them. She loves me, no matter what. Her wisdom is uplifting as she speaks exactly what comes across her mind. I never doubt what she is trying to tell me and, as I get older, I try to pay closer attention. Her 89 years on this earth have proved to be a valuable tool for my own life.
This past weekend, we had the pleasure of taking her to Hickory Grove Founder's Day. Never have I smiled so much on the inside. It was such a beautiful day. We ate homemade biscuits and mayhaw jelly, hot pear tarts and homemade vanilla ice cream. Jeff bought fresh fried pork rinds and he and Kathlean shared them together. We listened to gospel music groups sing the old time standards that we all grew up listening to in church. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and to top it off, Kathlean had her picture taken with "Elvis" (a guy that looked nothing like Elvis but sure did a great impersonation of him on stage!) Have you ever heard of a day that was worth a million dollars? Well, this was that da
y! No amount of money could replace the value of a day spent with two people I love very much and I cherished every moment of it. We've marked the date on our calendar for next year. She'll be 90 by then and we plan to spend it the same way, with a little woman that we think the world of. Often times I hear her say, "You know your mama's gone, your daddy's gone, my husband's gone...I don't know why the Lord left me behind for so long." I think Jeff's got it figured out. He says the Lord left her behind for me!
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