If my mother had lived, she would have been 87 years old now. She passed away when she was 49. My daughter was only five months old at the time so she has no recollection of her grndma. I was her only child and she did the best she knew how to do at the time and under the circumstances.
I was born during WWII while my father was overseas in England in the Navy. When I was 15 they divorced and I lived with one or the other of them, traveling back and forth from Western NY to Jacksonville, Florida.
Life was not easy for my mother. She belonged in another time and always contended she wouldn't live to be old and she didn't. She encouraged me to go into the Marine Corps while some other members of the family didn't think I would be able to handle it as I was the stereotypical "only child" and hadn't experienced much discipline in my life. I will forever be grateful for my mother's encouragement because becoming a Marine changed my life in ways I am still discovering. I miss her still.
I won't bore you with all that I could say about my three children. Let me just tell you that they grew up to be successful adults. I am very fortunate to have them. I am proudest of the way they deal with people. They each have humor and that is half the battle in life. You have to be able to laugh, especially at yourself.
