Introduction

This year it is my goal to write about my mom's life. She has had a very hard life in her 80 years of living. Maybe not so much as you see it on the surface and compared to others living during the times and area of her life. There is much that can be learned from her. I would really like to tell the "real" story, but somehow know that she would never allow that to happen while she is alive. I find her life to be full of interest and survival. Yes, survival! I don't know that I would still be a sane person if I'd had to endure all that she and her siblings had to endure. Although I know that others have endured worse, this is my mom we're talking about. The lose of a mother at a very young age, seven; An abusive father; A husband that didn't know how to be a husband; The lose of many of her children, six to be exact; and the underlying story that goes with each event. I would love to really tell the stories that go with each segment of her life, but I know she would never allow that. So, it is my hope to let the readers tell the story in their own lives. You fill in the blanks. Let your minds wonder down the road of life starting 80 years ago in the Hills of West Virginia. Many became lost in those hills. That is why they moved there in the first place. To become lost amongst the thickness of the trees. If you've ever driven down the back roads of West Virginia you know just what I mean. You aren't really sure there are houses there amongst them trees. You just have to have the sense that something exists out there. If you don't believe me, just ask my children.