My mother was born in Western Samoa in January 14,1959. She has always been the MVP of our family. She married my father on November 11, 1979, in Salt Lake City. My parents had me the following year. We moved and I know I was a difficult child. My mother never understood why. She just tried her best to deal with me. She loved me. She was a great mother. My memories of my mother as a child are priceless to me. I was the eldest of three. I was also the only girl. I was my mother’s little helper. Certain circumstances I had experienced as a child, put me on a difficult path.
As far as I can remember my mother tried to understand me. There were things about myself, I wasn’t ready to share with my mother, even at six years old. She tried as best as she could to see me, understand me, then offer as much help as she could. Even at such a young age, I fought for the safety of myself and my siblings. It was difficult but hard to prove, I didn’t need any child-sitter watching us. My mother did her best to ensure comfortability in my life. Although she didn’t understand my behavior, she always shared her own experiences as a child. She would always find common ground, in anything that would interest us both.
I did everything I could to stay home, after school, instead of the babysitter. My mother taught me how to make food for myself and my brothers. This consisted of bologna and cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It was simple enough. She made formula bottles, and taught me how to warm them, using the kitchen timer. She made it very clear to me that the world wasn’t always safe. She stressed the importance of keeping the front and back doors locked, not to be opened to anyone. My mother took every precaution to ensure a safe spot for me to watch myself and my brothers. I remember strict instructions to ensure no fatal accidents at home.
When we left one county for another, things seemed safer. I got to witness my mother flourish. She was in her twenties. She had so much energy. She was always a great cook. I’ll never forget the different recipes, she would try. She would always put her own little twist on the dish. She would tell me that she was adding love to the dish, to make it her own. I’ll never forget the crafty days, I used to have with my mother. We would bake desserts and make decorative items by hand, to deliver as gifts. We tried all different kinds of treats. If mom loved it, we tried it. If we loved it, mom would list the treat as something to make for fun. We’d get to enjoy the treats, before delivering them to our loved ones and the community.
Dad was always away, as a child. It was usually, just us and mom. It wasn’t a huge deal. Mom always knew how to hold her own. She was always working. Although, most of my adolescent years, she was working for different school districts, she always ventured out of that field, just to challenge herself. There was even a time when she was working at the Herbalife building, downtown Los Angeles. She made really good money there. However, it wasn’t where she wanted to be. Anytime, mom needed more money, she picked up side hustles.She picked up so many part time jobs, to ensure her kids were taken care of. Some of the side hustling, included deli services at the local Albertsons, seasonal sales associate at the local See’s Candies, or even early morning newspaper routes. It didn’t matter as long as she was given an opportunity.
Mom used to love motion pictures as a child. She would take to the movies or to the local Blockbuster & Hollywood Videos, to rent VHS tapes. Our favorite was scary films. We would rent so many, then build forts in the living room. We would spend the entire weekend chillin in our mountain of blankets and snacks. Mom also enjoyed going to the Cinema Theatre. For a time, there was only the four of us. It was typically myself, my two younger brothers and our mother. We would sneak snacks into the Cinema Theatre. If we wanted our cousins to join us, she would take us to the drive-in theatre. We were always entertained.
Mom even gave us each a weekend, to choose an item at a store of our own choosing. I would always choose posters and cassette tapes of my favorite musician. My brothers always had a series of toys, whether it was TMNT or Ghostbusters, she allowed us to explore our own preferences. She would be so happy just to see us kids get excited. She was always so open to the possibilities of us. We had so much fun with our mother.
I remember all the fun places she took us as kids. She was so adventurous. She made friends outside of our church community, our family and our culture. She had a few best friends. We used to meet up to attend football games, visit theme parks, and take trips to experience places, site seeing, historical sites, and other fun activities. There were a few places & moments I can recall off the top of my head. We went to football games to watch the sons of her friends play. We traveled to Bear Mountain to go ski. I ended up just sledding with the younger kids because I didn’t pack the right clothes for the trip. It was an adventure I’ll never forget.
My mother was so resourceful. She knew the ins and outs of almost every avenue, to take for assistance from the government. Mom was one of the few siblings, who did not get an education. She didn’t even complete high school in the earlier years. She later got her G.E.D. equivalency til after Dad passed. She was almost 40 years old. She enjoyed working for different school districts, in Special Education programs. She had a huge love for disabled children. I remember seeing in her element, at work. The compassion she had and care she took, for them, was something that always made my heart full.
I have so many memories of my beautiful mother. There is so much to share about this gorgeous soul. I know there is more about her I want my own to know. These are my experiences of my mother. To be cont.
