Single Mother

My mom has taught me many lessons. I can't even count the amount of times she has helped me in my life. She has taught me that I am strong enough, brave enough, and smart enough to raise my two boys on my own. Being a single mother herself, I do not ever remember her giving up or giving in to anything or anyone. She is the strongest woman I know and I can only hope that I am as strong and as brave as she is. She was a police officer before retirement and worked many hours to support my sisters and I. Because of her I have learned to work hard to make sure my kids have a strong and stable life. I could not have done it without her. She is definitely my hero. The grandkids consider her like a superhero. They talk to their friends about how their grandma hunts, fishes, rides motorcycles, and does all of these household projects on her own. Their friends say that their Grandmas sew and bake cookies. She is an amazing woman and I strive to be like her everyday. My parents divorced when my sisters and I were quite young. My parents did not have a wonderful relationship. There was fighting, my dad drank a lot, and anger filled the house. Unfortunately when I grew up I married a man who was a bipolar alcoholic and an abuser. Having 2 small children at the time, I was having a very hard time dealing. I could see the pain my kids were going through and I knew I had to get out of the situation. I thought back often to my parents' relationship and how strong my mom was being able to leave the marriage raising three children on her own. It gave me strength to do the same. After retirement she went straight into the Red Cross. She travelled all over the country helping people in need because of disaster. Loved the work even though it was very hard and took her away from family, including young grandchildren. But she knew she wasn't ready to stop working quite yet. She was in the red cross for almost 10 years before she finally decided it was time to retire and relax. Of course she spends a lot of time helping my sisters and I with our kids so I guess she hasn't quite stopped working yet. As I was a young single mother, it was the most amazing thing to have the support and help from her. She bought a duplex so my sister and I could live there with our children. My sister was also a single mom. If i couldn't pay rent, i didn't have to worry about being put out on the street. I could concentrate on my kids and their needs. She would come over and be grandma, but she would also come over and be the landlord and fix the sink or help clean up the yard. Anything we needed I knew she would be there to help out with. She would and still does help me out with money when I need it. She makes sure she writes down everything I owe her, which is fine with me. It makes me more considerate and more thankful for the help. Not feeling like I am just freeloading from her. I honestly feel like i would not be on this earth anymore without her help and her words keeping me calm on my bad days. I have gone through a lot in my life and she is always there to bring sense to what i am going through and helps me find ways to fix the issues and not just give up. I am literally here because of my mother, in more way than one.