BECOMING A MOTHER FIGURE

Driving to Glencloe, Alabama or nearby areas to pick up and drop off Jamie, Rick’s youngest boy was an every other weekend trip for us. Often times we would stop by Rick’s moms on the way home on the outskirts of Gadsden , Al. Rick was the oldest of five siblings. His dad had died when he was just sixteen in an automobile accident not long after they moved to this area. His mom remarried Hubert, a man who’s wife had passed also.

Many times we were just in time for lunch on Sundays after taking Jamie home. Ruth, Rick’s mom always had a lot of good home cooked food to choose from. Rick’s parents, were originally from the Maggie Valley, N.C. They spent the majority of their marriage in upstate New York in a town called Painted Post which is near Corning. His dad worked for Ingersoll Rand in that area up until Rick was a teenager. His dad got laid off around the time he was 15. Unfortunately, they lost their house to a devastating fire shortly after that. Subsequently, they ended up moving to Gadsden, Al where his dad went to work at Goodyear. A family friend had moved to this area and told Rick’s parents about the job opportunity.

Rick always said it was such a culture shock for him to go from upstate NY to rural Alabama at fifteen years of age. Rick had a hard time at school. This was during the period of integration of blacks and whites attending the same school. Rick actually ended up attending every high school in the surrounding Gadsden district before he ended up quitting and getting a GED.

Brandon had a similar disposition as his dad. There always seemed to be something going on at school and he would get into trouble often due to fighting. Jamie and Alan were very similar in their dispositions. They were lovers not fighters. They both were very easy going and laid back. Rick was like this as an adult.

I remember one particular weekend when Jamie was with us. The boys were getting their baths. They were in the bathroom together. I happened to walk by the door. Oh it was too funny. The things a second and third grade boys say to each other. These are such sweet memories.

I had this ready made family. Looking back now everything is so surreal. It still just amazes me the responsibilities I took on at such a young age. A soon to be stepmom to 3 boys at 23. Alan was in high school and then there was Jamie and Brandon. I think about how I had set things up before hand and the experiences I wanted to have in this lifetime.

I am still putting all those pieces together but it’s that “Mother” I was becoming. I am 56 now and have had so many different types of mothering experiences. It has been all about who I would be in this now period of tremendous transformation in humanity. What my role and calling is and how I am helping others find their way. I am just excited to share my journey with you. Hopefully, you, my readers, will be able to look at your life and see how certain events have shaped you and what your role is in your personal journey of awakening and assisting humanity.