Well we all had tears rolling down our faces , I assumed they were from laughing . I could only imagine what was going through the minds of everyone walking by us . I am sure we looked like absolutely horrible people that needed to be reported to someone or anyone .
Strength
My mom ’ s strength is what I envied the most . No matter what was thrown at her , she had the strength to overcome it . Losing her husband , raising us kids on her own , and fighting an excruciating battle with cancer . It was her strength and determination that kept us all going . It was a long and horrific battle at times . Many times , we thought we were going to lose her , but she pushed through it because she wasn ’ t ready to go .
Once we finally pulled ourselves together we got that “ Only You Girls ” look that she always gave us when she was trying to act annoyed with us , but really wanted to laugh . We did eventually get her sat back up and situated so we could keep going . I know what you all must be thinking , but in my defense , we called it even for her leaving me at a gas station in Florida . ( That is a story of its own ).
That was our last stop of the trip down , which turned out to be the best thing we could have done for her . I am not sure if it was her pure determination or because she feared for her life , but I am happy to say that we brought her home from Pennsylvania walking like she hadn ’ t in months .
After one of her extended stays in the ICU , we finally got to take her home in a wheelchair . My sister in law and I decided it would be a great idea to take her on a trip to Pennsylvania . We figured as kind of a last hurrah to say goodbye to her brothers and one of her dearest friends because we really didn ’ t think she would recover . During our second bathroom break in the first half hour of our trip we began to question our decision and seriously thought about turning around . There was absolutely No Way she was letting us do that . About the third or fourth stop we were still “ trying ” to get the hang of the in and out of the car . We kind of got a little excited trying to figure it out and she sort of went flying across the back seat of the truck .
As my mom was lying there floundering aimlessly across the back seat , like a new surfer paddling to catch her first wave , we realized that our system of you pull I push was seriously flawed . I would like to say that we held our composure , but none of us could stop laughing hysterically .
Caring and Compassion
She was one of the most caring and compassionate women that anyone would ever meet . She would have given the shirt off her back if it was the last thing that she owned . As a kid , I remember going shopping with her to buy Christmas presents for families that couldn ’ t afford anything . The local Marine Corp Toys for Tots chairman always told her he could count on her to donate her pillows and other gifts to the program .
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