by Greywolf on Sun Sep 13, 2009 11:05 am
Erin,
Please heed Barbykins advise, she is spot on. Your mother sounds a lot like my Step mother. I adored my mom, but could have no contact with her growing up. Here is a picture of a wonderful mom, at least in my opinion every mother should be held to a higher standard.
Now I’m the Dad
I am finding this difficult to recount, but I feel I must. I wish I were sharing this with a friend, but I know there are folks out in the world who have had similar experiences and hopefully came out on the other side with only a few bruises to either their physical frame or their mental stability.
Being one of seven siblings added to the difficulty in what I am about to share. At age 14, I had to grow up over night. Being the next to the oldest ages you too. The other children all look up to the older siblings. Maybe it was being thrust into a situation that was traumatic to start with, that caused the age lines to appear.
After 19 years of marriage and seven children, my dad decided to bring his girlfriend home to meet my mom. First came the introduction of this foreign entity into the home. My mother was standing in the kitchen when the tragedy occurred. Upon hearing the news, my mother collapsed to the floor and passed completely out.
No longer was I this young teenager, suddenly something rose up in me and I immediately repelled my father. He tried to get close to us all, but we weren’t buying it! My mother’s half-brother was contacted, and he took our mother back to their child-hood home in Bath, N.Y.
Those of us who were the oldest resigned to go with her. So my oldest brother, oldest sister, and I, went to live with our mom. She managed to secure a job as a waitress and found a small flat to live in. It wasn’t big enough for all of us and she found friends or relatives there to take us in. Things were a whole lot different back in the 60’s. There are laws in place today that may have helped my mom to adjust to this horrible transition.
The next thing on my mom’s calendar was the realization that she couldn’t survive on her little waitress job, and lost her apartment. Family came to the rescue for a time, but the loss of her seven children weighed heavily on her heart and mind. Why did she turn to the bottle? I’ve give you one guess. This whole episode is too heavy for anyone to bear. She was a wonderful mother who loved us all to such a degree that she would go without eating to be sure we were all fed.
I refuse to go into all of the dark areas of my mother’s life that this decision of my dad’s forced upon her. She never saw it coming. She was working at a full time job on the third shift of a bakery job, when this dreadful news came to her. My father worked at the same bakery and began to get involved with one of the secretaries; the same woman in question here.
For my mom it had to feel like being wrongfully accused and dismissed from a long standing job. She was my mom for the last 14 years of my life, then she lost her position to the other woman. There are two sides to every argument; but I am sorry I have to vehemently disagree with that saying. My father was so totally off the beam that day; and he had to live with the guilt of it the rest of his life. He could never get back into the full graces of our lives as his children. The youngest children, then just babies, did not have as much of an understanding of the whole situation as those of us older siblings who had to grow up over night.
One of the most difficult times for me was having to visit my mother, after I was married, and watch her drink glass after glass of hard liquor. We had to bar hop with her in order to share time with her. It was sad and pathetic at the same time. But I loved her so much and I understood! Maybe it drowned some of the emotion, or helped to blanket over the losses she would never come to grips with.
Isn’t funny how our memories flood back to us at very special times of the year. Two years ago, I couldn’t get the thought of my mother out of my head. She had passed away a few years before and it was Mother’s Day. Tears began to well up within me as I thought about how Mom loved us and gave us all the equal attention we were always needing. The following is a letter I wrote to her in Heaven on that special day.
Dear Mom,
I hope you get this letter. It is coming from my home here in Syracuse . They say that those who have died can't hear us, but I don't believe that. You are in my thoughts and prayers always. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to reach out to you and to give you the hugs and kisses you deserved over the years that we were apart. I am sorry for all your sadness and the separation from all of us children.
The youngest do not remember you, but I remind them of just what a great hardworking mom you were. I can still remember you sitting up in bed and panning those bakery rolls in your sleep. I also remember that you kept such weird hours at you job, and you still had to take care of the seven of us.
Mom I never remember you complaining one time. I do remember seeing your tears, but none of the children knew what you were going through. When Dad broke up our home with other interests, and you lost us to this other woman, I was devastated. I did not talk to dad for several months.
I understand mom, why you began to drink so much. You were a great mother and didn't deserve to lose your kids. I know that you made your peace with God; I only wish it had been earlier in your life. They say you had serious medical problems that led to your death. I don't believe that for one minute. I believe you died of a broken heart.
They say the tears are wiped away in heaven, but that doesn't stop them from coming here. I miss you mom, but you couldn't be in a better place. I am glad for you that your long dark night is over.
Sent with all my love,
Donnie
NOTES: Everyone that knew Rose, loved her. My mom had a coffee shop that she ran in Bath, N.Y. that she called Rosy’s Cafe. Different times, men, who lived on the street or were without jobs, would wander into the cafe in the morning, and she would seat and feed them. She would always tell them to see her later or catch her later for the tab. They never paid for their meals, and she was happy to do it for them.
Yeah, my dad let a prize slip right through his fingers. She was a rare and sparkling gemstone in my mind. Her life should have never taken this turn, and ours shouldn’t have either. They say it’s the kids that suffer the most. I disagree with this idea too. Mom was at her very worst without her children by her side. I had to grow up quickly the day my mom lost her identity as a wife and mother.
I have two children of my own now. One is an adult and the other is still in Middle school. They both adore their mother, and our marriage has lasted for 39 years come September.
God bless you Erin, on your pilgrim way. Scripture tell us that there is a way that seems right, but the end is destruction. I think you see the way that is right before you and the one YOU MUST LEAVE and not look back.
Blessings, Don