LINDA

Picture it! Gainesville, Florida on Sunday, June 19, 2005. It was Father's Day and what really should have been a day of celebration for my dad, instantly became a day of tragedy that would change our lives forever. It was the day that my mother, Linda Darlene Collins-Richardson passed away in the ICU unit at North Florida Regional Medical Center just after 7:00 am. She was 45-years-old at the time, just two weeks away from celebrating her 46th birthday which would have been July 4th. I was 19-years-old, one year out of high school and I had just finished my first semester at Santa Fe College. This day will remain monumental for me because it was the moment I realized that everything my mom had taught me for the last nineteen years of my life would be the very lessons and tools I would need to continue living without her being here to walk with me through the many stages that were ahead.

I lost my mom early in life but I have so much to say about the woman she was and why she was the epitome of what a true boss mom is. My mother was married to my father, James for 21 years at the time of her passing. While many kids grow up not having a good example to follow for what a solid relationship and marriage looks like, I was truly blessed to have that example before me so that I would know what to look for. I'm the oldest of three children. After I was born, my parents agreed for my mother to be a stay-at-home wife and mom while my father went to work and supported our family with his income. Later on after my younger sister and my younger brother were born, my parents agreed that my mom would go back to working once the three of us were old enough to come home on our own after school. While some people may put down the role of being a stay-at-home wife and/or mother, it was one role that I never took lightly and saw that the role itself was like working a regular job. I can say that my mom did the job well and she did it with a smile.

I never had to ask my mother if she was happy with taking care of the home because her actions and her body language spoke for her. She was happy and she loved her family with everything she had and there was nothing she wouldn't do for us. When I turned twelve, my mom talked to my dad about possibly going back to work now that we were getting older. I don't really remember what my dad's response to her was but I do remember life taking an unexpected turn for us when my mom became very sick and found out that same year that she had kidney failure. She spent the next eight years leading up to her passing as a dialysis patient but she was a real fighter and a BOSS! A lot of patients with her condition couldn't move around or do a lot without someone assisting them but my mom was different and her momentum inspired so many people, including the doctors who were treating her. While my dad did his part in helping to take care of my mom, my mother was determined not to let her condition stop her from living life the way she knew it. She continued to take care of her family cooking meals when she was able and even driving herself to her dialysis treatments while other patients like her were limited to riding a van or bus.

My mother may have lost her battle with kidney failure but I am proud as her oldest daughter to say that she did not go down without a real fight! She did her best to live life to the fullest! She cherished every moment she had with her husband and her three children no matter what was going on and no matter how much pain she was in. She kept a smile on her face and she never wanted me to worry about her. She continued to talk to me and teach me many lessons that I still to this day take to heart and abide by in own life. Next month is my mother's sixteen year anniversary and any chance I get, I will forever continue her legacy by fulfilling my purpose in the earth and I will make her name known to many! She will always and forever be remembered and honored as the greatest mother and woman to walk this Earth and I am proud to say she was my BOSS MOM!!