Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my Mom's birthday. I blog on here a lot about my Dad, mainly cause he's been so sick lately that it kind of stands out, but I don't want to short shift my Mom. This picture was taken two years ago when my parents were in the midst of moving from Mississippi to Tennessee. It was Thanksgiving Day. They were spending the week with me, having sold their home and not having their new home ready for them yet in Tennessee. My brother drove over and spent the day with us. It was a nice day, the first time I remember my parents not having Thanksgiving at their home.

My Mom was born in a small town outside of Tennessee. Her father was a farmer and her mother raised 3 daughters and 2 sons. My Mom's father was one of the kindest and gentlest men that ever lived. They didn't have a lot of money. My Mom would pick cotton to help bring money into the family. If you've never picked cotton it is a very hard job.

My Dad was in the Navy and transferred to Memphis when he met my Mom. Shortly after meeting they were married and not long after that I came along. My Mom had two more sons, one who died within a week of being born and my sister who has spina bifda. I remember as a child my Dad coming home one day and telling my brother and me that my Mother had been diagnosed with severe arthritis. He said it was going to make it hard for her to do certain things. I've never seen it effect my Mom.

After my parents moved to Mississippi my Mother was in a car accident. She was driving home from work when a man driving a SUV turned to talk to his grandson in the back seat. As he turned he veered into the other lane and hit my Mom head on. I forget the car she was driving, but it wasn't a big car. Later we went to see the car, it was wonder she survived the accident, the entire front end of the car was smashed in.

I can still remember that night. I got the news around nine. I drove over to my brothers and we headed towards my Mom. The town she lived in was a little town with a little hospital, so they brought her to Biolixi and the Navy base there. The Navy base was about a two hour drive for my brother and me. I can remember driving that night, my brother and I talking about my Mom, circling the worst, at that point we didn't know how bad it was or wasn't. We had been told she had an accident and was at the hospital. It was probably the longest car drive I'll ever have.

When the other vehicle hit my Mom's car it drove the engine back into the car, pushing the dashboard towards my Mom. Somehow only her left heel got caught under the now crushed dashboard. It literally shattered her heels into pieces. When I saw her in the hospital her body was completely black and blue.

One of the things I remember about all that. They wanted her to blow into a tube and try to blow a ball up the tube. This was to help her lungs and help prevent her from getting pneumonia I think. They told her to do it every two or three hours. She was blowing into that tube at least every hour.

My Mom is one of the strongest people I know. She is stronger than just about anyone I know. No matter what happens she keeps on going. She'll complain but she's going to get the job done no matter what.

I consider myself very lucky in having the two people I do as parents. So today I just want to wish my Mom a Happy Birthday.