Saturday, July 25, 2009

When Memories Attack

I just had a long buried memory come to me. How weird is that when something you had totally forgotten comes to the surface? I was reading a post from Vodkamom and I remembered something from my childhood.

My friend Sue and I were walking across the street in our hometown and we were having a conversation as kids do. Sue was having a hard time keeping a secret and just had to tell me. As kids do. She told me that the women at her church had taken up a collection to buy my mother a new washing machine.

Now this was a big deal for us as my mother had been hand washing lots of her clothes as we could only get to the Laundromat once a week and she was in a wheelchair all day while my father slept. He worked nights so he could be home with her during the day. I was in school during the day and spent nights sleeping downstairs to be near her in case she needed something while he was at work. Many times I saw my mother hand washing small items and hanging them on a rack to dry in the downstairs bathroom.

Money was tight in our family as my mother had to quit work when her illness became worse. She had her own hair salon when I was young but gradually tapered her business down to nothing as the Multiple Sclerosis became more debilitating. Her health insurance was cancelled because of her illness. My father was the only breadwinner and her first Social Security Disability check didn't come until the day she died. She had a hard time proving she was disabled evidently to the government.

Anyway, when my mother found out about the washing machine she cried. I think that was the first time I ever saw her cry over something that made her happy.

7 comments:

Living Day to Day with Multiple Sclerosis said...

Wow! What a memory and I really don't even know how to comment on this. Except that life is full of "change". I am sorry about your mom and the struggles you had as a child.

Far Side of Fifty said...

A sad memory of hard times, sometimes they just rush in..:(

IB said...

A sad story about your family's hardships, but, at the same time, an uplifting story about the generosity of people. Thanks for sharing.

IB

Jeanne Estridge said...

One true thing -- that is one reason why I come here.

Vodka Mom said...

wow. That made my heart skip a little.


sniff. sniff.

Anonymous said...

This was painful to read. It's more like a window into a soul than into a life-- Carolyn

T said...

Boy, that is a sad memory. Sometimes they sneak up on us, don't they.