Dear World

My grandson, Jack, started pre K this September. When asked if he liked his teacher, he replied “I like Mommy better.” The first day is hard on everyone. The moms met in the cafeteria after dropping off their little ones. It was called Coffee and Kleenex. The moms were given a letter entitled “Dear World”. It was a letter for the world to be gentle on “my son” as it begins to teach the lessons that “my son” will have to learn. It ended with “He is such a nice little boy, my son.” Margo made me a copy and by the time I finished I was crying. By the time, Coach (Gary’s grandfather name) finished he was REALLY crying.

About the same time Jack started Pre K, I took my mom, Ilma Beryldine Broaddus Lynn, to a memory loss community. After having her with Gary and me, it was absolutely apparent that she had to go. Just like Jack had to start school, I had to take Mother. Fighting it was harder than doing it, I discovered. Here is my “Dear World” letter.

Dear World,

Today my mom, started the grandest leg of her journey. She went with a positive attitude and was determined to “like it”. Oh world, how I wish that you could see her before she became so frail and forgetful. If you look in her “memory window” outside her room, you will learn a lot about her and from her.

She was born in Missouri but moved to Texas when she was about three years old. She was born to Thomas Martin Broaddus and Mabel Faye Davis Broaddus. A story that I always liked about her parents was that my grandmother was not allowed to date my grandfather because he drove his HORSES too fast. She did it anyway and moved away from her family to that dusty Texas town of Amarillo. Family, obviously, became very important and my memories of my grandmother are wonderful. (My grandfather died in June before I was born in October.) My mother began working at the young age of 14 by driving a woman around. She was a secretary at Magnolia Oil and Gas Company and then worked at the church as the minister’s secretary until the ripe old age of 75. She decided to quit before they ask her to quit. Mother knew everyone and their relatives that went to First Christian Church. She headed off many problems for the senior ministers by simply listening to the person “Needing to see Dr. Robinson, Dr. Bridwell, or the rest of the ministers. She moved to Houston and worked another ten years for me numbering negatives in my photography business. You will learn a lot from Mother by being a hard worker and a good listener. She NEVER participated in “office gossip” and always listened without judgment. Many a person that unloaded their problems on Mother while waiting to see the minister, left without ever talking to him. (it was “him” during that era”). They would leave deciding that they didn’t need to talk so badly after all.

Mother was an avid walker. She would walk everyday without fail either at the park or the mall. She entered into many activities that kept her thinking. The doctors still don’t know what causes dementia, but Mother did everything she could to stay sharp. The comment that helped me the most was that “God has designed our bodies to fail.” Her body is failing, her beauty has moved more on the inside, but her smile when she sees the ones she loves is as radiant as ever. Lord, please help her to remember us and caretakers help her with our names and remind her that we are coming to see her more than she remembers.

My Mother was a sister to Evelyn Louise Broaddus Sheldon and to Glenn Davis Broaddus. She was the middle child and I would describe her as a child caught in the middle. My Uncle Glenn was a practical joker. I heard stories of him loosening the girth of the saddle so that Mother would fall off the horse. He would hot wire the seat of their Model T and would shock Mother every time she was in the passenger seat. He used to love to laugh about how she would wiggle and squirm as he shocked her as he drove. Mother always wanted me to pattern myself after Aunt Evelyn. She admired her younger sister’s abilities and wanted me to be just like her. She just knew that I would learn to cook and sew like Aunt Evelyn when I grew up. Evelyn learned and so could I. I’ve been married for 40 years and I am still waiting for the wave of homemaking skills that Evelyn seemed to possess. The quality that you will learn from my mother is that she never thought more highly of herself than others. She never held a grudge and always pointed out the good qualities of others.

DO YOU REMEMBER HOW PAUL HARVEY USED TO SAY “AND THAT’S THE REST OF THE STORY.” Well, I never finished my tribute to my mom two years ago. My husband found it on my computer several months ago and brought it to my attention. So over the next few days, I will give you the rest of the story.

Love,

Cindy