When God sends You another Mother?
Life can change in the blink of an eye. Then again, some things take time before change occurs! One thing I've learned is you just can't tell what life will hand you next. We never know who will come into our lives and for what reason. Things can happen so unexpectedly! Let me tell you a story that is 100% true! The events that takes place in this story is a real life experience!
My story starts off searching for a place to rent. Hubby and I were looking for a rental property to lease. We were relatively new to the area we were living. We moved to this town two years prior. For some reason we had problems finding a house big enough for our family! We needed a three bedroom home to rent. Since we were new to the area, we wasn't really thinking about buying a home at the time. We thought we'd wait and get more established in the area and see if we still wanted to live there or move somewhere else!We looked all over town for a place to live. My lease at the old place was almost up! I only had two months to find something and we still wasn't having any luck! Our current place was a tight fit from the beginning! When we moved there we were having the same problem of finding a big enough place! This place was a older frame house with (3) bedrooms and only (1) bath. Although we learned how to balance having just one bathroom, let me just tell you we had two teenagers at home! My son and daughter are only 2 years apart in age, so there was always a battle for bathroom time! Not only that, the rooms were very small. We knew we could continue living there and just sign another year's lease but we didn't want to do that unless we had to.
One day while coming back from our searching we passed a red brick house on the corner that said "for rent or sell". Hubby seen it before I did. We slowed down to take a better look at the house. It was only a few blocks from our current place. When he slowed down I could tell it was a nice place. The lawn was well manicured with saint Augustine grass and pecan trees. It looked big enough but my first thought was the price! It was a red brick ranch home (3) bedrooms, (1 1/2) bath, and garden shed. It was beautiful. It was a corner lot so the lawn looked bigger then the other houses around it. Nice, but could we afford it?
I immediately told hubby to keep driving! I told him we probably couldn't afford this place, it was too nice! I could already tell it would be out of our budget! Hubby said to me, "let's find out"? So he drove around the block and came back to the house! There was a phone number on the sign! Hubby wanted me to call and find out! So nervously, I dialed the number and spoke to a nice older lady that said she could show us the place right away and told us how much the lease would be! I was in shock! It was in our budget and she could show it to us right away! So we sat in the car and waited till the owner showed up! To our surprise it only took a minute. The owner lived across the street! We saw this little lady walking across the street with keys in hand.
We introduced ourselves and exchanged pleasantries, then she showed us the house! It was nice on the inside too. A little outdated but not bad! We liked the place and the owner liked us! We told her about needing to move in a month, that was no problem for her! She told us how much the deposit would be and we gave her all of our information. She said she'd talk it over with her husband and get back in touch with us in a few days! We were very excited! Who would have thought we'd find a place to live just like that.. So it was back home we went! Excited and waiting to hear back from the nice little lady we met! Well, it didn't take long at all. She talked to her husband and the next day she called me back! She said once we paid the deposit and signed the paperwork we could move in whenever we wanted after that!! What? I couldn't believe it! And who was this nice little lady that came out of nowhere?
We moved in the next weekend! We were very thankful for our new home even though we were renting! It was a nice house that one could be proud of. It was in a nice location only minutes away from school and shopping! The kids were happy with the place and you know how hard it is to please teenagers! Everything to fall into place! I got the kids enrolled in school. I transferred all the utilities. All the usual things you do when you first move in a new place. After we were settled and unpacked, I decided to call our new landlord and thank her for all she'd done! She had been so helpful and understanding about the move. So I called her and she invited me over to meet her husband. Hubby and I went over to meet the new landlords and they were both delightful. Both were in their older ages. Her husband was 90 years old and she was 79 years old. They were both sharp and smart people. After they retired they invested in real estate and rental properties. We were surprised to see them so independent and active at their ages! They had no children, just nieces and nephews who came to check on them occasionally. Otherwise they lived alone and took care of themselves! She still cooked everyday and did gardening while he still mowed the yard and took care of things around the house along with their rental properties. Seems like we made a real connection with them that day! I begin to get closer and closer to the landlord. I could just walk across the street to pay rent! It was a nice arrangement!
After a year or so of living there, we knew our landlords very well and they knew us! I would always ask if they needed anything and I would check on them by calling or going by there at least once a week. Then I got laid off of my job! The place I was working was going out of business! I worked there for two years or since we had moved to that town! Unexpectedly I might add! Thankfully at the time hubby had a good job and the children were both in high school. I didn't know what I was going to do! At the time jobs were tight and hard to come by! Unemployment was high and there weren't even many part-time jobs. I gave thought to starting a business. At the time I didn't have many resources or start-up money. I begin researching and giving thought to what kind of business I would want to start. I have a BA in accounting and so I knew I would start there! Accounting! I had to be patient and wait! Both my teenagers was in high school. For now I would keep looking for work.
The next thing you know we were going on our second year! I was still looking for work but the kids kept we busy with all of their school activities. I would still check in on my landlord at least once a week. One morning while I was visiting she confided to me that her husband was sick! He had prostate cancer and they had only given him 3 to 6 months to live! This was terrible news because I knew she would be alone. At that very moment I knew I needed to help! She asked if I could drive them to doctors visits. Of course I was more than happy to help. By this time hubby and I had built up a relationship with the both of them. I helped out as much as I could! Finally he got so sick that they called in hospice! I still helped as much as I could and I would go over there just to keep her company everyday. I didn't worry about work (I couldn't find work anyway)! I kept helping my landlords as much as possible. I was there with her the night he died! She was on one side and I was on the other! He asked me to take care of his wife as a favor to him! I promised him I would! He was (92) years old.
I did just what was asked of me! After her husband died I went and stayed with her for two weeks before I went back home. Her and her husband had been married (62) years. I knew she'd be lonesome. She did have family but they all lived out of town and was as old as she was. She was so glad that I took the time to see after her and help her get things straight after her husband died! From that day forward I called her Mama! I mean listen, yes she was a friend but more than that! I could have called her Mrs. or ma'am but because of my southern raising I couldn't call her by her first name! When her husband died she was 81 years old! So Mama it is! She was tickled pink and didn't mind it at all. I went across the street everyday to talk to her, take her food, and take her anywhere she needed to go! We even started going to church together every Sunday!
As the years rolled by, we became closer and closer! I decided to start my business for two reasons! One, the job market was terrible. And two, because if I worked from home I could keep an eye across the street or be over there in a minutes notice if I had to be! I started off very small and business started out very slow. Since I knew Mama had family out of town, when I wasn't busy working I could take her to visit some of her family members! I was always glad to take her! Before to long I knew her family as well. They were very relieved that she had someone close by who could keep an eye on her! All of her family loved me for taking care of her and delighted that we had a mother/daughter relationship.
We remained close until her death (13) years after I first met her! Only God knows how close we were! I loved her so much. She was just like a mother to me and I tried to be the best daughter she could have had! We would do lots of things together! She was quite active until her last few months of life. She was a wise soul. I learned a lot from her! We would spend lots of time talking about life! She made an impact on my life! When she got diagnosed with cancer she was (90) years old. I begged her to get treatment but she refused. She said she had lived a good life and that she was ready to die! As much as it hurt me, I respected her decision. Eventually hospice came in to help me with her. I stayed with her until her last breath... She was (92) years old.
After she passed away my life wasn't the same! She had been a daily part of my life for so long! I was lost.. We paid Mama rent for over (13) years. Mama left me the house in her will. But after she was gone and her niece took possession of the house across the street, I couldn't bear looking over there knowing Mama was gone! My heart was too heavy! Mama could not be replaced! I still feel the loss to this day! Mama will never be forgotten. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of her or think of something she's said or taught me! She will always be in my heart forever! I am so very thankful to God for her. She was truly a mother to me!
and my granddaughter
Comments
Post a Comment