She wanted me before she even knew me.
She grew up on a farm – counting cows and stripping tobacco. In the fall she made leaf houses and played teacher with her sisters. Then she studied deaf education and took a greyhound bus to the oldest city in Florida, where she drew her family’s names in the sand. Then she met Jesus, a handsome Christian, and moved to Jacksonville to turn an ordinary house into a home. When Mom found out Amber was on the way, she suited up in coveralls and attacked the cactus growing in the side yard.
Pretty soon it was three girls and a boy, all in matching outfits, heading to church. She tucked us in at night and kissed us awake in the mornings. We counted skittles instead of cows. She stripped sheets instead of tobacco. We read books, created portfolios, did zoology and played outside. She doctored countless scrapes and splinters, coaxed me out of the branches of the tree at the Bank of America, fitted Burger King crowns and always knew when the Book Mobile was in town. Picnics at 6-bridges, camping out on the beach waiting for turtles to hatch, and memberships to MOSH – everyday was a new opportunity to learn and grow.
Her voice read us to sleep, taught us Shirley English, and comforted us in all seasons. As we grew up, she let us. If we wanted to try something new, she encouraged us. Now, she is a different kind of mom. She doesn’t tuck us in at night, but she prays we will sleep soundly. She is a mentor, a dear friend, a voice of reason and encouragement, and her laugh fills any room she enters. She makes other houses homes, she teaches young married couples how to be a team, and she knows how to encourage a mother with exactly the right words.
She wanted me before we even met, and that selfless love and devotion has allowed me to grow into the woman I am today. I could not have been the daughter, student, employee or farmer that I have become without her support and encouragement. I think she was born to be a Mom all along, and we all rise up every day and called her blessed.
CarolineDuvall 