On to the second event that happened on September 12th.
*DISCLAIMER AND WARNING TO KIM (AND OTHERS): THIS POST MAY MAKE YOU CRY, HAVE TISSUES READY!*
*DISCLAIMER AND WARNING TO KIM (AND OTHERS): THIS POST MAY MAKE YOU CRY, HAVE TISSUES READY!*
Today is Momma's birthday. She would have been 67. She was born on September 12, on her mom's (Mamaw Webster's) birthday. When I was little everybody thought I looked like Mom, but when we were teenagers, everyone thought Debbie looked like Mom. They always thought they were sister's instead of mother and daughter, Mom looked so young.
This picture is of mom and her little sister, Edna (the cotton top). Mom and Aunt Edna have always been real close. They also looked alot alike, more so than Mom and any of her other siblings.
This is Mom and Dad. I believe it was taken shortly after they were married. Probably 1959 or 1960.
I'm not sure what year this picture was taken, but I believe it was before 1999.
This picture was taken in 1999. I made it with the first digital camera I ever owned.
This was from Labor Day Weekend, 2005.
Momma was the 4th child in a family of eleven (see pictures in previous post about Mamaw Webster). She and Dad were married on December 19th, 1959. I came along on September 5th, 1961 and Debbie on August 7th, 1962. Kim was born on May 8th, 1969. Up until that time, Mom and Dad both worked at Roane Hosiery. We lived in the holler in Jett Valley and attended Child's Memorial Baptist Church. Shortly after Kim was born we "loaded up the truck and moved to"....Glendora, California.
We literally loaded up the truck, Dad put the mattresses in the back of the truck with the camper top, and me and Debbie rode there on the way to California. Dad rigged up an intercom so we could talk to him and mom. Kim was just a couple of weeks old and of course, rode up front with Mom. I remember as we left the driveway in Jett Valley, Deb and I were in the back singing "California Here We Come". We were off on a grand adventure! We stayed with Aunt Helen & Uncle Don for a while in West Covina, before moving to Glendora. We spent 8 years there, before moving back to Tennessee.
We came back "home" in September of 1976, when I was 15. Mom stayed home with us when we lived in Glendora, but worked several jobs after we moved back. She worked several years in the deli at Goldston's Quick Check. She also worked at Roane State, Johnson's Nursing Home, a steak house in Harriman and Shoney's. The last place she worked was for Debbie & Wendell in their store. She loved to work on her house and with her flowers. We attended church at Swan Pond for several years, and for the past 4, Mom and Dad were faithful members at the Harriman Baptist Tabernacle, where Kim and Debbie and their families also attend.
Though she only had three daughters, she had 12 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. Mom had rheumatic fever when she was real young, and then had it again before Kim was born. It caused damage to her heart that worsened through the years. Four years ago, Mom had open heart surgery and a mitral valve replacement. She amazed the doctors with how well she recovered. She had a problem with her heart out of rhythym early this year, but the doctors were able to correct it.
Momma passed away suddenly from a stroke on March 23, 2009. She and Dad had been married for 49 years.
Some of my fondest memories of Mom are from the years right after we moved to California. We only had a pick up truck at the time. Dad had to use it and often worked away from home for a few days at a time. We would spend the summers walking. Me, Debbie, and Mom pushing Kim in the stroller. We would walk to the local stores to shop, usually Gemco and Newberry's or Woolworth's. We would shop and then have lunch in their cafeterias or at the lunch counter. Sometimes we would go to Thrifty Drugstore for an ice cream cone. We would also walk to the library.
During the windy months, Mom would go with us to the playground at Gordon (our elementary school) and fly kites with us. During the school year, Debbie and I would often walk home for lunch. Kim wasn't yet in school. Often Mom would fix us macaroni and cheese, corn and pork & beans. (Pork & beans have never been a favorite of mine, but I can eat them if I have corn and macaroni and cheese to go with them).
Back during that time was when the heiress, Patricia Hearst was kidnapped by the SLA (Simbianese Liberation Army) in Northern California. We watched all the news coverage on TV and even the shoot out that went on. We went to JC Penney's one time, and Mom used her credit card and security was called. That wasn't a good time to share the name of a kidnapped heiress even if it was spelt different!
It's hard to believe that Mom's been gone for 6 months. I know that she is in a better place than we are, spending time with family and friends who went before her, and most of all with her Savior, but I miss her! I know Debbie and Kim and Daddy, as well of the rest of the family, miss her too!
I'm thankful that one day, there will be a family reunion!
~
I MISS YOU, MOM!
~
I LOVE YOU!
~
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
We literally loaded up the truck, Dad put the mattresses in the back of the truck with the camper top, and me and Debbie rode there on the way to California. Dad rigged up an intercom so we could talk to him and mom. Kim was just a couple of weeks old and of course, rode up front with Mom. I remember as we left the driveway in Jett Valley, Deb and I were in the back singing "California Here We Come". We were off on a grand adventure! We stayed with Aunt Helen & Uncle Don for a while in West Covina, before moving to Glendora. We spent 8 years there, before moving back to Tennessee.
We came back "home" in September of 1976, when I was 15. Mom stayed home with us when we lived in Glendora, but worked several jobs after we moved back. She worked several years in the deli at Goldston's Quick Check. She also worked at Roane State, Johnson's Nursing Home, a steak house in Harriman and Shoney's. The last place she worked was for Debbie & Wendell in their store. She loved to work on her house and with her flowers. We attended church at Swan Pond for several years, and for the past 4, Mom and Dad were faithful members at the Harriman Baptist Tabernacle, where Kim and Debbie and their families also attend.
Though she only had three daughters, she had 12 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. Mom had rheumatic fever when she was real young, and then had it again before Kim was born. It caused damage to her heart that worsened through the years. Four years ago, Mom had open heart surgery and a mitral valve replacement. She amazed the doctors with how well she recovered. She had a problem with her heart out of rhythym early this year, but the doctors were able to correct it.
Momma passed away suddenly from a stroke on March 23, 2009. She and Dad had been married for 49 years.
Some of my fondest memories of Mom are from the years right after we moved to California. We only had a pick up truck at the time. Dad had to use it and often worked away from home for a few days at a time. We would spend the summers walking. Me, Debbie, and Mom pushing Kim in the stroller. We would walk to the local stores to shop, usually Gemco and Newberry's or Woolworth's. We would shop and then have lunch in their cafeterias or at the lunch counter. Sometimes we would go to Thrifty Drugstore for an ice cream cone. We would also walk to the library.
During the windy months, Mom would go with us to the playground at Gordon (our elementary school) and fly kites with us. During the school year, Debbie and I would often walk home for lunch. Kim wasn't yet in school. Often Mom would fix us macaroni and cheese, corn and pork & beans. (Pork & beans have never been a favorite of mine, but I can eat them if I have corn and macaroni and cheese to go with them).
Back during that time was when the heiress, Patricia Hearst was kidnapped by the SLA (Simbianese Liberation Army) in Northern California. We watched all the news coverage on TV and even the shoot out that went on. We went to JC Penney's one time, and Mom used her credit card and security was called. That wasn't a good time to share the name of a kidnapped heiress even if it was spelt different!
It's hard to believe that Mom's been gone for 6 months. I know that she is in a better place than we are, spending time with family and friends who went before her, and most of all with her Savior, but I miss her! I know Debbie and Kim and Daddy, as well of the rest of the family, miss her too!
I'm thankful that one day, there will be a family reunion!
~
I MISS YOU, MOM!
~
I LOVE YOU!
~
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
4 comments:
Very sweet post.My heart has been
broke all day,but I know she would
not come back if she had the choice.You did a good job,all except the fact that everyone who
reads this post is counting up our
ages.Hee!Hee!
That last comment was from KIm.
The "Hee!Hee!" gave it away!
Teresa,
I love reading how you were came from California to Tennessee and later being saved. I also loved reading about your Mom & Dad. My Mom's birthday is also Sept.12. She was born in 1932. When you have friends and read about their childhoods, it somehow makes you feel closer to them. You are a great sister to Debbie and I know she appreciates all you do and just being there. Please pray for my sister, Martha, who right now has serious medical problems. She is in UT Hospital. She had a large blood clot in her head and also a eye disease called VKH. She is my older sister and I depend on her so very much.
I really appreciate being able to read your blog. You always to me are uplifting to others.
Thanks,
Karen
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