From left to right - my cousin Scott, my sister Lori, my dad Don, my mom Liz and then me and JC...it was a good day.
As we were going into the temple for my sister's endowment, my cousin Scott was coming out. Scott and his younger sister Cara were the only cousins I had a relationship with growing up. Cara and I had a paper route together and we were good friends. Scott's mom, my aunt, died several years ago from cancer. His dad remarried and basically checked out of the family, devoting all his time and energy to his "new family" leaving my cousins basically without any family. My mom has stepped in and been a parent to them when they need it, and a grandparent to their children. I know that I have said before that my mom is great, but as I tell this story, you will be able to truly appreciate the wonderful woman she is. Cara lives in Missouri with her great hubby, Boyd, and their 4 kids. Scott was married and had 6 kids. About a year ago, he went through a VERY nasty divorce. Scott is a very quiet, mild mannered person. He works 3 jobs to make sure he can provide for his family. His ex-wife was not a very nice person and had been EXTREMELY nasty and unkind since the divorce. Things like not letting the kids call Scott dad anymore...they were instructed to call him Scott and their new step-dad was dad, taking them and moving to Atlanta, not letting Scott ordain his oldest son to the preisthood, financially devastating Scott, not letting the kids talk to him on the phone....the list goes on and on. You get the picture. The situation was taking such a toll on Scott. Everyone who cared about him was praying for some kind of resolution to the situation. That he could find some sort of happiness in a very bad situation. So as we were buying Lori's new "undies", my dad came in and said my mom needed to come outside right away. I could tell by my dad's face that something was really wrong. We paid for our stuff and went outside. Scott was there with my dad and he was crying. He hugged my mom and told her that his ex-wife had died the night before. She had gone in earlier in the week for exploratory surgery, and died of a blood clot while recovering. We were all floored. It was such a shock. We didn't have time to talk very long, but Scott came with us to Lori's session. As I sat there in Lori's session a million things ran through my mind. Of coarse you worry about the kids. What would happen? They were all the way out in Atlanta. But the longer I sat thinking about it, the more I realized that this was what all of us had been praying for. No, we weren't praying that she would die...but that there would be some kind of resolution to this horrible situation. That her heart would be softened and let Scott have the relationship with his kids that any father should be given. Her motives were so selfish, and it was the children that were suffering because of it. I truly believe that this was Heavenly Father's way of making it right. Maybe he knew her heart to so hard it could not be changed and this was the only way to make the situation right. I don't know...but it makes me think. Scott was living in a one bedroom apartment and was NOT set up to take in six kids ranging in age from 13 to 3. So my mom and dad opened up their home to Scott and all of his children. When the children arrived they had the Sunday clothes they wore to the funeral and one pair of pajamas. The ex's parents refused to give Scott the rest of their belongings. So my mom would wash their clothes at night, and their pajamas by day until the situation was resolved...which was over a week! Since Scott works 3 jobs, my mom has had to be their mom. The children did not start school right away because they had to find a house to live in first. So she had all of them, all day, every day for a while. Once they found a house, my mom took them all and got them registered for school. She went shopping for supplies and clothes. All this while caring for them (they are emotionally devistated), cooking, and cleaning. They all moved into their new home over this last weekend, but my mom is still caring all day for the youngest who is 3. She has to pick one up from half day kindergarten and has all of them in the evenings when Scott goes to his night job. My mom also helps out one of my other sisters with her two boys. She has truly been amazing during this time. Some days she is stretched to her limit, and wishes she could just go back to her empty nest status, but knows what has to be done in this time of need. I am very proud of her and think of her every day and for the sacrifices she makes. She has more kids at 60+ years old than she did when she was young, but she is using her love and kindness to make a lasting impression on a group of children that have seen enough sadness and pain in their short lives to last them the rest of their life. I know they will look back as they get older on this time with my mom and remember it was with her that they began to heal and mend and get back to normal, and for that my mom should be the proudest woman on earth. I love you mom!
