crazy but lovable

That is the epitaph i think my mom would pick to have upon her tombstone if she could right now. This is how her grandchildren pretty nuch sse her which is a very good thing!!!!!

I called my sister my *hero* which she is...... my mom is my inspiration. She grew up in a very small town in northern california on a farm i still scrunch my face when she tells me of chopping the head off live chickens and other things like that which are normal on a farm. She had to move several times while growing up, which kept her from forming long-lasting friendships because they were taken away by the move. She went on to fulfill a longtime career goal of becoming a nurse and was valedictorian of her highschool. She has her 50 year this coming weekend so that motivates me to make this post.

As I mentioned before, my mom and dad wer both in the army, stationed at Ft Sam Houston where yours truly was born!!! My dad contracted skin cancer while there, and my mom was his nurse. They both knew the possibility of his cancer being fatal and yet chose love and got married They moved to new jersey shortly after i was born, as thats where my dad was from. My mom tells a hilarious story about driving through the Smoky Mountains on a very narrow road in a dense fog....... a canary was sitting upside down in its cage with me on the front floor and my grandma, my dads mom... saying the rosary over and over out loud with my dad yelling at her to shut up!!! Soooooooooo much funnier when you hear my mom tell it!!!! We were able to make a trip; to california driving with my father a greattrip and he died 2 years later in august of 1969. I just this past weekend talked to my mom and found out she was in the room for his last breath. That seems like such a tearjerking event to experience AT ALL let alone it be your husband!!!!

We had a split-level house in NJ it was great!!!!! Contrary to common belief... jersey IS a beautiful state its call ed the garden state for a reason LOL!!!! Living in jersey my mom was surrounded by my dad's relatives... and usually was referred to as *Chuck;s wife* and even if they did call her Linda..... they saw her through the lens of my dad. So, in 1973, she decided to head off back to HER roots california. Now..... most kids would be THRILLED to be heading to southern california i mean DISNEYLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!! DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As well as the sun, surf and sand!!!! But for me, it was terrible!!!! NO WAY did i want to move, and i tried to make that very well-known and obvious to her every chance i got!!!! I even stole a scene from the Brady Bunch by trying to hide under the baseboards and make scary noises like the house was haunted as she had a real estate agent showing the house to prospective buyers!!!! Much to my chagrin, the house sold first week she had it on the market :( I must say she made good on our trip out to california however...... we stopped at many an amusement park as well as the baseball hall of fame!!!!! When we finally got to cali,,,, my sister and I saw that we were now living in a lil pink house!!!!!! PINK!!!! It was very close to the beach though!!!!

It was very tough to be a single mom with 2 kids trying to make it on her own in a brand new state and seeking a good job. Thus why i call her my *inspiration* Thankfully being a nurse was a very needed occupation so she found jobs fairly easily. We went through mant trials and tribulations as a family a vast amount covering so much..... but she always made sure we were well provied for and that we had opportunities to grow and learn and to see ourselves through our own failures. One major attribute of my mom i admire is her resliency she is NEVER SICK!!!!!!!!!!! And if she is, she doesnt baby herself she deals with it and gets over it quick!!!! Reliability, perseverance, intelligence, mental toughness and loyalty are a few of the many great qualities within her. Impatience, stubborness, dwelling on negatives, being extra hard on herself are a few of the problem areas she faces..... but they balance out way more on the [positive!!!

She became a psych nurse eventually and to my surprise ended up working in the same hospital as Dr John Townsend, Henry Cloud and David Stoop..... WOW!!!! These men are huge in the realm of christian counseling right up there with James Dobson and Focus on the Family!!!!!! She even gets mentioned in their *Hiding from Love* book in the thank you personal acknowledgement section!!!!!! Killer!!!!!

i always enjoy reading stories of people and their family relationships always interesting!!!! In talking about my dad and dealing with terminal illness in that one post..... i was just motivated to share this small lil history of my crazy but lovable mom... who did a GREAT JOB and helped me to become a man who was able to be ordained as a minister of the Gospel a few years back!!!! Sure hope she sticks around alot longer!!!!

LOVE YOU MOM!!!!! A F F E C T I O N !!!!! LOL :)