30 Days of Truth: Day 06

Day 06: Something You Hope You Never Have to Do


So today's is also a little bit of story time. I was born in the Tulsa area, and lived there through the end of my year in kindergarten. Once kindergarten was over, my father convinced my mother to move to Southeast Oklahoma to be closer to his parents. So all 5 of us loaded up all of our things in a U-Haul and moved to a small town called Hugo (I wouldn't be surprised if you've never heard of it). We lived in Hugo for about half of the school year before moving in with his parents in Wright City. It was during this time that my parents decided to separate and get a divorce. So my mom moved out, along with a majority of mine and my brothers' things, and moved us to Idabel, OK (All of these towns are pretty close to each other, so they weren't huge moves).

I finished up first grade in Wright City, and started second grade in the same school. About three months into the school year, my mom got custody and so I transferred to go to school in Idabel. We lived with our mom for a majority of the time, and I absolutely loved this time! We walked everywhere together as a family, including the grocery store and the church. I thought it was really cool to walk down the street holding the hands of my mom and brothers and bringing groceries back to cook.

What I didn't know is that we did all of these things because we were dirt poor. Thankfully, my mom's mom (Mimi) didn't like to hear how much we were struggling financially, so she got in her mini van and drove the 4 hours or so to Idabel, OK and packed up our things and helped us move back in with her in Sperry. I just thought it was cool that I got to be around my other family all the time. Throughout the next couple of years, my mom worked full time and went to school full time. She completed her Bachelor's degree in 3.5 years. I was proud of her, but didn't really know why.

Now that I'm grown, I realize how much she struggled financially, partly because we needed food in our bellies, partly because my father had ruined her credit, partly because she took out the maximum amount of loans to make sure the three of us lived a life without knowing we were poor.

Something I hope I never have to do? I hope I never have to struggle as much as my mom did, financially, while she was raising us. I truly appreciate all of the sacrifices she did make to make sure that we grew up as healthy as possible and as naive as possible. Because looking back on it now, I want to slap myself for not thanking her more. But it's all in a mother's love.