Lucy

Lucy was born while my mother was working on her Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education.  I remember vaguely the times that mother would talk about he college classes as we sat around the dinner table.  It was an inspiration to have an educated mother.
    Lucy was the sweetest little thing ever.  Always cheerful, always happy.  At least that's how I remember her.  On one occasion she was playing pirates in the basement with Howard and Sam.  She came dashing up the stairs and announced, "I love playing with those boys.  They're so gross!" and promptly dashed back down the stairs.
    My mother had decided (out of financial necessity) to do he own appliance repairs rather than to pay a repairman.  She was working on the clothes washer one day and needed some muscle to loosen a bolt.  I provided the muscle and mother went on with her repair job.  She would check out from the library the a book about the particular repair, find the trouble, remove the offending part, and replace it.  My own propensity to do the same was learned from her.  And she did it in the pre-YouTube, pre-Google days.  After I helped Mother with the repair, I started up the basement stairs.  Lucy, who was Mother's shadow in everything, came running up after me, gave me a hug, and said she loved me for having repaired the washer.  Of course, I had done very little in the process, but it felt great to have the admiration of such a sweet little girl.
   In elementary school, Lucy and Jonny took Spanish Emersion.  Mom and Dad fiddled with Spanish a little in those days as well.  Lucy and Jonny also got into the business of making suckers and selling them at school.  They had a set of sucker molds (the round suckers), and a variety of colors and flavors.  Lucy to this day, still makes wonderful treats in her kitchen to raise money for her family.
   I did not get to know Lucy as well as my older sisters, mostly because I didn't spend a lot of time at home after my mission.  Soon your mother and I married, and shortly after that my parents moved to Missouri.
   Lucy tells me of the struggles she had with reading and with bullying in the public schools.  The scars are deep.  I didn't witness any of this, so I can only go on what little I have heard from Lucy herself.  This is an unfortunate thing, because Lucy is very intelligent and could have picked up reading sooner than she did, and with less pain.  On the other hand, I witness first hand what happens when the education system leaves poor, poverty stricken schools to suffer on starvation budgets and the materials are not available and the professional development is out of reach, and the technology is sub par, and the books are is sorry condition, and the buildings as well.  But, Lucy had a mother that read to her.
   In her teen years Lucy gave my parents a scare with some cowboy she dated.  They were worried sick.  Everyone was happy when Lucy converted Brian Byrd and started her family.  Brian is very quiet around me and other members of the family as well.  I can only suppose it has to do with difference of opinion on political matters, but it doesn't matter.  Brian chooses to avoid me, and I choose to let him.
    When Dad died the family (mostly Howard) worked out a plan to take care of Mother.  Howard build an add on to Lucy's home where Mother would live out her days in close company of her daughter and grandchildren.  Lucy's own home was partially renovated in the process.  In exchange, Lucy would care for Mother, 24/7 if necessary, so that Mother wouldn't have to go to a nursing home.  This was at great financial cost to Howard, and great personal cost to Lucy.  She earned everything she got in the deal.
   Mother was not hard to care for until the last several months, but Lucy had to take Mother to her blood and other treatments and to advocate for Mother when the doctors weren't doing their jobs.  On one occasion mother was on an imaging table. Lucy in the other room could hear her crying.  The Dragon Lady came out and gave the doctor what for.  I know from personal experience that those imaging sessions are not always very pleasant.
    Just after Mother's passing, Lucy had her last daughter whom she has named Nora.  She is as sweet and wonderful as I remember Lucy being all those years ago.  My father used to say that the grandmother's bring the babies, and Dad named Lucy after his mother because he felt her presence at the birth.  So, little Nora was brought my her grandmother.  And I suppose Nora will be blessing to Lucy to the end of her days.  It's a pretty romantic story, really.