Jan 25, 2021
One of the things that my mother taught me was that family is always family.
In this episode of “The Journey of my Mother’s Son,” I sit down with my cousin Patty Wade to talk about our family and the impact that our parents still have on our lives today.
It was almost two years ago now that I took two road trips by myself in January and February of 2019 that seem to have really started the journey of my mother’s son. The second of those two trips, was to Orlando to participate in an Ali Krieger Adult Football Camp. While in Orlando, I stayed at my cousin Carole’s house, who was living in Orlando at the time, just a few miles from her sister, Patty.
Part of the camp was a meet and greet with Ali on Friday night, which Patty and Carole went with me to. As we were walking back to the car after the event, Patty had said to me, “I can see you doing what your mom did someday.” I just chuckled and said, “No, not me.”
As I look back now, I think that Patty’s comment definitely planted a seed in me. It wasn’t too long after I returned to Pennsylvania that I really began contemplating this new adventure. The Lord had Patty plant that seed and it was starting to bloom.
I think that one of the things that started to resonate with me was how great it was to connect with family and friends on those two trips. To really be able to spend some quality time with them and connect. Prior to 2019, I couldn’t tell you when the last time was that I had seen Patty or Carole, but if I had to take a guess, it was probably at a family member’s funeral. Unfortunately, too many of our “reunions” have been at the funeral of a family member.
My mom comes from a very large family, she had 10 siblings total, but there was an interesting dynamic to our family tree. Her parents divorced when her and her siblings were very young. Both her mother and father remarried and went on to have additional families of their own. When explaining to others, my mom would refer to her siblings as, “His, Hers, and Ours.” She had two brothers and a sister from her parents first marriage (ours), two sisters and a brother from her dad’s second marriage (his) and a sister and three brothers from her mom’s second marriage (hers). My mom never referred to any of her siblings as half brothers or sisters, they were all just brothers and sisters – period. I never heard her call her step-father by his name, only Dad or Daddy.
That’s one thing that my mom made very clear to me when Sandy and I first started dating. Sandy had three children and I had one, so my mom made it clear to me that my relationship with Sandy was a “package deal.” It was going to have to be one family if it was going to ever work. That advice came over 30 years ago, so I hope that I can say that I took it to heart.
This journey has been about spiritual growth and connecting with friends and family. Thanks, Patty, for planting that seed in me a couple of years ago.
Here’s to family and friends!