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| A Story My Momma's mother was the only grandparent I ever knew. The others all died long before any of us were born. Anyway, she was a rough lady. My Grandfather killed himself when my Momma was about 12 years old. So Grandma was left with 8 kids to raise, the oldest being my Mom. I know that had to be very difficult for my Grandmother to live with. Grandma was not a very good Mother but I guess she tried. Back then there was no help for families without a bread winner so she took a job with the county, helping people can and preserve food. She left home on Monday morning and came home on Friday night. She had to walk all over the country. I know she had a hard life, but many times she would be late coming home because she was out with a man when her kids needed her at home. My 12 yr old mom and 11 yr old uncle quit school to raise the other 6 kids. My Momma never resented her Mom, but I have always felt my Grandmother could have done better by her kids. Some of the things she did were downright cruel. When she was 16 my Momma fell in love. She did the unthinkable back then, she got pregnant. Her sweetheart got scared and ran off. But what my Momma never knew, till years later, was that after 2 weeks he came back to marry her and Grandma told him she had run off and married another man. He left the state and Momma never saw him again. Then grandma mixed up this stuff in a metal pan. It was a recipe someone gave her and she tried to make momma drink it to miscarry the baby. Momma refused, and it was a good thing too, because that stuff ate a hole right through that pan. Momma would have died. I'm sure my Grandmother was shocked but she never said a word to Momma. And then when Momma's baby boy was born, Grandma delivered him and said he was stillborn. Momma told me once that it nearly drove her crazy for a long time wondering if Grandma had smothered him. Then she told me she finally decided that her Mom could not have done that. To believe anything else would have driven her crazy. But she never allowed Grandma to take care of us when we were babies and Grandma was never allowed to strike us in any way. My Momma had such a rough life. She married my daddy because he was the first to ask and he was so kind and sweet to her. She had to get away from home. She knew he had lived a life just as rough as hers but she never dreamed he was already well on his way to being an alcoholic. She never dreamed of the pain and heartaches waiting down the road. When I was 14 a sad but wonderful thing happened for my sweet little Momma. A young man came to our house, He was the son of Charles, Momma's first love. He said when his father was dying he made him promise to find my Momma and tell her that he did come back and that he had always loved her. The young man said his dad died with my Momma's name on his lips. The look on my Momma's face was a sight to see that day. He waited till he saw my Dad leave, then he came to the house. He introduced himself and said, 'I have a message for you. Would you like me to tell you in private?' Momma said, 'No, I have no secrets from my children.' So he told her the story his father had told him and Momma started crying. he held out his arms and she walked into them. He held her till she quit crying. Her eyes were red and swollen but she was smiling too. Momma told me, not too long before she died, that she had truly loved my father, but that the love she had for Charles had never died. She said he was her Soul Mate and I for one believe that we can truly love many times, but we can only ever have One Soul Mate! |