Memory Monday #19

My mom-Mary Dale Carnes Venable 1915-1994

    My Memory Monday..a day after Mother's Day...is to honor a wonderful woman who helped make me the gal I am today.  My mother, whom I have mentioned many times, and will continue to, was the true epitome of the "mother lion".  My mom was a very intelligent, personable woman....she herself never had the opportunity to go to college although she would have dearly loved it; but I grew up with not thinking "if" I go to college...but "when" I go to college.  My mom and I often clashed when I was in the teen years, but looking back...we were also very close; she and I  thought so much alike and had similar senses of humor!  My mom was a bit of a feminist before the word was invented.  She was not overt or pushy, but had a quiet strength about her that showed me one can accomplish much in one's own way!  I feel, and hope I have instilled this in my daughters, that one needs to stand up for one's beliefs and be compassionate without being too aggressive and annoying.  Thanks, Mom, for being...well...MOM!

     

 My mother-in-law-Dorothy Mae Shirley Dodds 1918-?

     And another mother I want to pay homage to is my mother-in-law.  Dorothy raised three pretty great children.  She again is a very intelligent lady who didn't go to college, but she saw to it that her children did..if they chose to. And I see the qualities that my husband of nearly 50 years has that reflect a background similar to my own.  These were instilled in him by his parents.  And this sweet lady has also been the "mother lion" in her children's lives and in her own quiet ways, is a force to reckon with!  I have learned so much from Dorothy; she has such a grounded philosophy and subtle sense of humor, I love to spend time with her.  And she gave me a pretty darn good partner!!!