First and foremost, my Mom had a heart of gold. She loved animals dearly. After she retired, she worked at the Humane Society in San Antonio, Texas. However, they actually had to let her go because she would be standoffish, rude and cold to the humans if she found out that they mistreated their pets LOL.
My Mom actually never thought she was a strong woman, but I'm here to tell you she was. She got divorced in 1977 and back then it was very difficult to raise a child on your own. I'm not saying it isn't today, either, but back then women didn't have the same standing as men. You have to understand that in the 70s and 80s it was tough for females. My Mom couldn't even buy a car on her own because she had to have a man cosign! (that still shocks me.) So, even with a low income under the tough times of that era, she still took care of me, herself and the house my Dad left at her footsteps as he walked out. She was actually very, very strong in my eyes.
After she got divorced in 1977, we would travel often to the Texas Hill Country which was an hour and a half from where we lived on the west side of San Antonio. After about a year, she realized how much she loved spending time along the Frio River camping, that she made the decision to buy a couple of acres. She worked overtime for years to help pay for it. But it ended up saving us a lot of money as she didn't have to keep paying camping fees and instead had her own land to put our tent on. I am very proud she bought the land and had a piece of nature with only her name on it. What a feat!
I pretty much "grew up" in the Texas Hill Country on the weekends. We went every weekend for ten years until I was about 17 years old. Camping, fishing, tubing, hiking, watching stars or satellites, being around nature, seeing all the different animals. My love of nature and the outdoors comes directly from the love that my Mom had of nature. And I love that she introduced me to that part of my love life.
She was very protective of me and if anyone ever crossed me or said anything bad about me she wouldn't speak to them ever again (after she gave him the evil eye of course).
My Mom also was very strong when she stopped drinking. She drank most after the divorce. And when she was around 40 years old, she stopped. She was sober for the next 26 years of her life. I was very proud of her for that, even though not realizing at the time how difficult that was.
The love my Mom had for me was so deep and strong and she would do anything for me. That includes making sure I made it into college, helping me get my first car, etc. And she also taught me a good work ethic. I would help her on weekends around the house or doing yard work. What I didn't know was what that would teach me - how important it is to have a good work ethic. She was also very conscientious at her job, and I learned that from her as well. Oh, and her English and grammar were very good - as I can attest as she got a red pen out when I was in middle school and marked up one of my papers LOL. But I learned to work hard, be dedicated, and give it my all from her. That's why I'm very conscientious, that's why I meet deadlines without prodding, multitask well, etc, etc. All those things, all those traits I learned from her.
I also witnessed her taking night classes to get a new degree to help her move up from secretary to paralegal. She showed what was possible for me.
I wish she saw all these things I saw about her.
She hated that she had got divorced, more so because of what people thought of her. But what I saw was someone who carried on because of the love she had for her daughter.
I'm not saying there weren't some tough times and I'm not saying there were things I learned what not to do (who hasn't lol), but what I am saying is a lot of the reasons I am a successful woman today, is because of the successful, strong Mom I saw growing up.
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