I was raised by two strong women who sacrificed almost everything to raise me and my sisters. My mother and grandmother were very strong, hard working women. To say we didn’t have a lot growing up is an understatement. My daddy and mother divorced when I was 12, and there were 6 women in the house, my grandmother, mother and us 4 girls, Faith, Hope, Charity (me) and Joy (yes, those are our real names). We were all very bonded growing up because we were all each other had. We loved and cared for each other so much.
When daddy left, mother had no marketable skills and no education past high school. My grandmother worked at Avondale Mills during the early hours and came home and worked on the farm with mother and us girls until it was time for dinner and we’d all eat together.
At the time, none of us realized how little we had. And the reason we didn’t realize it was because they sacrificed so that us girls could have a beautiful life.
Mother was the backbone for the family. She got a full-time job, went to school full-time and worked her fingers to the bone to make things better for us. She went to school during the day and worked 3 p.m. – 11 p.m. at night as a nursing assistant.
Because we lived so far from the college she was attending, she sat in her car between classes and studied. Some days were bitter cold and she carried blankets with her to keep herself warm in the car while she was waiting for the next class. When she finished her classes for the day, she went to her nursing assistant job. She sacrificed sleep, hot meals, time at home and many more things to do what she had to do to make our life good.
Mama (our name for our maternal grandmother) cooked for us, sewed all our clothes, and kept the home fire burning for all of us. She always had hot meals for mother to come home to. No matter how tired she was, she cooked.
I will forever be appreciative of all their sacrifices. I am who I am because of what they sacrificed for us.
Blessings of happiness, love and light to you from Sterrett, Alabama!
Charity M. Richey-Bentley
What a wonderful testimony. Send my respect to your Mama and to your Grandma. Hope you are all well and happy now.
I know this story from your mother’s point of view. I married a lovely man when we were both very young and we quickly had three lovely little ones. When our last baby and first girl was just a few months old, my husband became mentally unwell and lost his job. In those days there was no real financial help or compensation, just people turning away because it was “ mental “ illness. So I waitressed in the evenings and later studied to become a registered nurse, so that I could support our family. We had very little as you can imagine.
He did become better, although all his life has been very vulnerable to illness episodes. My children have an understanding of what I have done for them and it is heartening to see posts like this.
I understand your story and I’m glad your support the two women who cared for you and your sisters.
I am so impressed with this writing from a daughter who appreciated her family as did her sisters. God Bless their grandmother and mother for the sacrifices they made during their lifetime and I would just bet they never looked at it that way because they did what they had to do. It’s so sad not enough appreciate their family the way this family did. They didn’t know they were poor because they were so rich in their love they had for each other. I so enjoyed reading this so much because it makes me wish I knew them. I would be so proud to call the, friends.