I am certain I have told this story before, however it is worth repeating. My biological mother, Eva, died when I was born. My biological father, Larry, did not know what to do with a one year old & a newborn infant. In stepped Mommie & Daddy Pat. They gave my sister and I a home. More importantly, they gave us a family. Linda & I were loved, we were accepted, we had a home, we were family. I cannot explain or describe the magnitude of this gift. From the time I was born I was an orphan, yet I wasn't. Sure I wonder how life would have been had Eva lived. I think that is normal - what God took away he gave back to me in a million other ways. Larry's mother & sister, my Little Gram & Aunt Norma were always there for us. We had two biological cousins, Steven & John. Every summer we spent two weeks at Little Grams. Steven & John were at the house every morning, ready to spend the day with Linda & I. Reckon they may have had other things they would rather have been doing, but for two weeks of the year, Linda & I were with our biological family and it was wonderful. At home in Malone, we had Rosie & Aldona Mae - we were sisters. We played together, we had our share of sibling rivalries, we were normal sisters. The Murtagh Clan was large. At family gatherings Linda & I were cousins, just like everyone else. What Mommie & daddy Pat gave us, both the good and the bad was unconditional love. There was turmoil & trauma, through my rose colored glasses I see only the gift of love. As life is often six degrees of separation, the friends we made, everything we had, the women we are today all began the moment we went home with Mommie & Daddy Pat. When circumstances became difficult it was my brother Scotty & his wife Wanda who took me in. They didn't hesitate, I was their sister, I needed a place to live, that was
that. I became a big sister my niece Amy. That was yet another gift. When circumstances allowed I was able to "go home" to Mommy & Daddy Pat. To this day Aldona Mae, has been the best sister anyone has ever had. What amazes me even more are the friends who become family. Y'all know Eileen has been my best friend since the moment I was born. This friendship gave me even more family; I am Aunt Lisa to Lauren & Jacob, Mrs. Murphy has always treated me like a
6th daughter. Just today they threw me a surprise birthday/graduation party. Who was there? Of course Eileen, my niece Lauren, my nephew Jake, my sisters Margaret & Patty with their husbands, my brother Frank - Leigh, my soon to be niece - June my Cousin/friend & Jill, whose blessed Mother drove the bus I rode to school on. Together they all came to celebrate me. It amazes & humbles me...for what I lost upon the day I was born God gave back in at least 1,000 different ways. Everything I am, any good I have done, any obstacle I overcame I have done so because I am loved. My friends in CA, Donald, Jessie, Lynn, AnnaLee, & Michelle & Aaron who now live in NC, or Shari who lies in HI, Liz & Emily, Tony, Nazi, Anna - and I could go on and on...I have such a blessed life because Mommie & Daddy Pat showed me the true meaning of love. Little Gram & Aunt Norma showed me the true meaning of love. Yes, there were dark days, days of struggle; then a day like today happens, a party where everyone came together, enveloping me in a cocoon of love - once again I bury the tough parts, and with my rose colored glasses (they really were rose colored glasses, Margaret gave them to me), and my revisionist history, I am once again amazed by those who find me worthy of love - these are the memories to keep. These are the moments when my tears are joyous, when I wish I could give back 1/4 the love I receive - these are the days when I say my prayers and I thank God for all he has given me. We overcome because we are not alone. Knowing, I am sometimes lonely, yet never alone...well this is all I need. I suppose I might always wonder what life would have been like had Eva lived, I will never know; so I have lived the life God gave me. I thank him for opening the one door as he closed another. My faith is easy to hold, I only need look around me, and my entire life is a miracle. And when it appears I can't escape those moments of hell God opens the heavens and with my faith restored I move forward with strength, conviction, and absolutely no fear - surrounded with unconditional love nothing can stop me. The saying is somewhat trite...it is not the number of times you are knocked down, what most counts is the number of times you get up! I'll keep getting up!
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