What Mama Did

Sorry, folks. She's all mine. {And Calley's.}

Mama dropped me off at cheerleading camp. I mean, she literally dropped me off.

We had broken down every time we stopped on the way, so she said, "Ashley, I'm not gonna stop. I'll just slow down, and you can jump out. I love you."

I cried sixteen times that day because I couldn't get that stupid 1999 dance.

I smile every time I think of the drop-off.

She curled my hair whenever I wanted her to.
She hit me in the head with a hairbrush whenever I whined too much.

She waxed my eyebrows. On demand.

She struggled. For me, for Calley. She drove that beat-up car for way too long. I loved that car.

She came to school way too much. Man, how she loved parent-teacher conferences (and later Parent Connect - the bane of our existences).

She made me turn in my Algebra homework AFTER I failed the class.

She listened to my almost-daily world-ending emotional breakdowns.

She tried to fix it. It didn't work - only God could mend such brokenness.

She shared her heart, her hurts, her experiences.

Mostly, she gave. Not just time, or money, or effort.

She gave her whole self. Her heart and soul.

She made sure that I knew that I am hers. And she's all mine.

{Big shout-out to Sherry Cannady Williams, the sweet soul who will always be "Mama." I thank God for you.}