June 22, 2020. Madison, Mississippi. My Friend's Mother.

I just love success stories. I like to find out how people got from where they were to where they got. That is why I enjoy reading biographies. I have also learned that every person has a story that is interesting. I have only spent a few times with my friend's mother but what I learned I found fascinating. I met her as a retired lady visiting her daughter who lived in DC. She was sitting in the reception area waiting for her daughter to finish work. I sat and talked to her. She was witty, energetic and enthusiastic. I learned that she spent summers at Cape Cod. She clearly enjoyed her life. Eventually I learned the whole story andI was even more impressed. She married into a well known family and had three children, the first two adopted and the third my friend born to her. All was well. The mother painted, played golf and tennis, danced and generally lived a good life, at least on the surface. Then her husband died young, and mother was in a position to raise three children with no job. No savings and no insurance would bail her out. All she had was a degree in fine arts and a gift with her sewing machine. She started making ball games for prominent people in her city. And she made wedding attire. Eventually she made fancy gowns and dresses all up the east coast. And she turned her dress making into a thriving, lucrative business. My friend spent all summer at the Cape, in the property her mother purchased. And my friend played tennis and golf, all funded by her mother. In later years she had a companion who accompanied her to the Cape for the summer. He enriched the mother's life. But then mother was diagnosed with Parkinson's and life became difficult. Her company died. The last few years have been difficult. Mother had several falls because she would forget to use the walker. But she never complained. And her sense of humor stayed intact, according to my friend. I have always been impressed with my friend's mother who started out on one path and then was forced into another path, which turned out to be spectacularly successful. May she now RIP.