My "Shero"

February 14, 2022

Dear Loretta,

Happy Valentine’s Day!

As you know I enter writing contests to try to win funding for my business. The one that is on the challenge board now is entitled “Hometown Hero.” I purposely waited until today, since it was not going to expire, to take a minute and say, “Thank You and I love you” on such a special day of LOVE.

Thank you for being you. You are (and have been a mirrored image of Christ). Your kindness, compassion, care, generosity, non-judgmental personality, empathy has been hard to ignore.

Ever since I was 11 years old and you were 16, I watched you be brave through your challenging marriage and being a mother of four. You were young, but you were very mature for your age. I never knew you to complain. You just played the hand you were dealt. And you did it with style and grace and consistent prayer. You demonstrated the strength of a lion.

We were born to parents that were very adamant about education, family traditions, and especially, without wavering, strong religious faith. So, I know there were times you felt embarrassed, rejected, overwhelmed, overburdened, and defeated, but I watched you keep on keeping on. In the words of Donnie McClurkin, “A saint is just a sinner, who falls, down, but gets back up.”

Although having four small kids, performing your wifely responsibilities, working driving a school bus; still in school yourself; you still took time with each of them and recognized the attention needed for each of their very different personalities. You, instilled good family morals, disciplined them as needed; taught them about making good decisions and understanding the consequences of their actions when they didn’t, and taught them amazing work ethics. You had them ready for school every day, involved in extracurricular activities; and active in the church. In the midst of being a mom (which is a full-time job within itself), you and your husband purchased your first mobile home, vehicles; kept your bills paid, your credit unblemished. This taught the children phenomenal responsibility. And in the words of our late father, “Keeping a good name for yourself and having good credit is better than cash on hand.”

Through all of this, you continued to help with our parents around the farm and with the animals, your mother-in-law, aunts and uncles; neighbors who needed help i.e., picking up their groceries, medicines from the pharmacist, or simply providing a ride for them to go into town when they wanted or needed to shop. And needless to say; would babysit me and some of our nieces and nephews.

On top of managing this heavy load at 16, after 10 long years, your marriage ended in a terrible, terrible divorce. But again, you mastered it with your head held high. You always, always stayed focused keeping your head to the plow. You were like the energizer bunny, you kept going and going. I had to put something a little funny in here, it was getting intense. I’m crying writing this to you because I remember those days watching you, a young girl be so strong. I was thinking to myself, my sister is my hero.

As years went by, you adjusted your lifestyle to being a single mom. Back in those days, the elder generations expected you to be married, in order to raise good ‘sound’ children. So often you were asked, “When are you going to get married again?” And others even had the audacity to say, “You ought to get married again, but I’m not sure who will want to take on four babies.” We lived in a world where you had to respect your elders, regardless of what they said to you. Seemed unfair, but it is what it is.

The beauty, however; was your answer. You would say, “There’ll never be another man in this house other than God. I will not expose my children to different men. I’m just going to continue to focus on raising them until they are grown. And if I want to date and marry again, I will at that time.

To date because of your faith, and your allegiance to God during the difficult years. He has shown you favor. You are now remarried with a great husband of 16 years; four grown and successful children; five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. You have a beautiful home, you are retired, and hold a position in the church that is so respected by all. You weathered the storm. And Sister-friend, I am soooo proud of you! Well, now I have to say, “You’re my ‘Shero” because you are the absolute strongest woman I know. HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

With so much respect and love for you,

Your baby sister, Adrainne