Thoughts.com Blogs - Worlds most amazing woman part2

Well part 1 explained how my mother in law got all the kids.
This part is going to explain some more about her.

She was one of the most positive people ever born I think.
She wasn't a very strict mother just very loving and excepting of all things that are children. I think she very rarely spanked or ever had any kind of temper.

She and the kids moved all over alot. They lived in several states. She also kept
everyone busy and involved in many things. Such as Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Sunday School (She was a Sunday School teacher at one time.) She took the kids camping, and horseback riding. They bought old horses that were ready to be destroyed and nursed them back to health and ran a riding ranch. She made some money this way.

She had photo albums that covered a large book case with pictures of the kids at every age and in every state or place they had visited. At her funeral they had a slide show running on a tv. There they were on horses, at the Grand Canyon, The falls, Camping trips, and the pictures just went on and on. I looked at the slide show for a long time wondering how she did all this with 10 kids. I feel like I might not make it through a day with two kids.

She was very smart and living through the great depression knew how to make a dollar streatch! She told us stories all the time about how she grew up what kinds of things she had to endure. She could go into detail of her first purse at the a very young age. She never forgot anything I don't think. Some of the stories just sounded very doubtful. Like no way one person could have lived through all this. But then there would be a newspaper clipping or picture proof. She and her life had just been mind blowing.

The kids grew up and started having their own families. To tell you the truth I don't even know how many grand kids, great grand kids and great great grand kids there are. I'd have to look it up. And more have been born since she died.
She was in the delivery room with most of us women in the family and was very involved in a new family member! Babies and little kids were her life!
She was the one who drove me to the doctor the day they decided to do deliver my son C-section. They didn't let her stay in the room but she was there. We actually had to wait on my husband to get there.

She in 82 years never had a traffic ticket or accident and made sure to tell everyone of us that complained about her slow driving! So you can guess how long the stories went on about her driving some of us women to the hospital at 90 miles an hour. It was the main conversation a lot of the time after a delivery. LOL

She really was the glue that held this family together. There was a lot of family discord and everyone knew they had to be at her house on Thanksgiving and if you had a problem with someone else you'd had better just check it at the door.
Thanksgiving was her holiday! People would come and go at different times but I have known of 70+ people being there at one time.

As she aged she started loosing function. She could no longer bowl, then no longer see well. We all had a very hard time trying to get her to not drive anymore. She was not about to listen to anyone even though we had told her we thought she had became a danger on the road. Walking became difficult and she fell a lot. Finally when she found herself not remembering how to get somewhere that was a few miles away she gave in and stopped driving.

She turned 82 years old 5 days before she died. Most everyone was in from other states and cities for her birthday party that day. She had just come home from about a month or more stay in the hospital. She was done with them poking her with needles and shoving tubes everywhere and said she wanted to go home. We all knew she wanted to die at home. It was a hard day bringing her home knowing there was next to no hope.
For the next month she was in a hospital bed in her livingroom. She had to be fed and diapered. Out of all those kids there was only 4 of us female family members feeding her and changing diapers. Most the weight fell on one that lived with her with the rest of us rotating to care for her.

It really made me mad and sad out of all those kids nobody cared to help. She was reverting quickly back to a baby state! Looking into her glassy, icy blue eyes you'd see the helplessness of a newborn.

One day none of us could get her to talk to us. She stared at the wall in front of her . We started calling the people that had been there to check on her or the ones who had taken care of her. Everyone one at a time trying to see if she'd talk. Not a word.
My husband couldn't be there for her birthday party. He is an over the road truck driver. He told her he would be right there Thursday when he came home. This was Thursday the day she wouldn't talk.
He came in and was last in line to try and get her to respond. He said "Mommy are you going to talk to me?". She just stared at him (instead of the wall). He repeated it again "Mommy, are you going to talk to me?" She cracked a little grin and said "WHY?" He asked her what she meant by 'why' and she said she had waited for him.
We all let out a little sigh and chuckle. She was rotten!
He stayed and spent time with her and fed her and told her about the work week.
She said she wanted to tell him that she knew he thought she was the only person who ever wanted him (him being adopted, and he did think that). She told him that wasn't true. That anyone would have been blessed to have him! And so many people wanted babies. He kissed her and had to leave because he wasn't ready to deal with all this.
The next morning he was out cleaning the garage with our brother in law very early in the morning and we got a phone call. The Call! I was asleep upstairs and he came running to me screaming my name! I knew by the pain in his scream she was gone. Tears and disbelief came over us both. He kept yelling at me "HURRY, WE HAVE TO GET OVER THERE BEFORE THEY TAKE HER!"
I drove him over both of us crying the whole way. He ran in and cried "MOMMY NOT YET, COME BACK MOMMY!". Then his sister followed running in the door and she started yelling and crying that she should have never left. It was one of the most hurtfelt loving things I have ever had to see! Family member after family member came in crying over their regrets and the loss that had just slammed us all. Even though we knew it was coming it was so hard for anyone to face.

I will stop now and write part 3 later when I can compose myself.