Part 3 - My Mother

Pat married Jack in February 20, 1950.

My older brother Steve,

 was born on Jan. 8th, 1951

I was born 11 months later, on Dec. 8th, 1951.

(same year)

Then 11 months later,

 my younger brother,
Scott was born on Nov. 21, 1952.

Our family was complete.

Three cute kids, 

ALL 11 months apart!

We looked like a perfect family.

We were almost,

 but my mother had issues,

 that lingered from her past.

Being a girl was hard for me.

I had two bothers, who are very close.

And a mother who, at times, kept me at a distance.

 The pressure I felt, was great at times.

I didn't figure out the "problem" until I was a 

mother of a girl, myself.

My Aunt Bobbie helped me and 

confirmed my suspicions

about my mom.

My mom had a hard time trusting and

 liking any female.

My mom's past haunted and effected her 

 her whole life.

                                 to be continued...

Part 2 - My Mother

Patricia Childs
Born February 1927    Died  July 2017
( Pat, Patsy,)

My mother was born right before the
Great Depression.
The second baby girl, for my grandfather.
She has an older sister, by one year,
my Aunt Bobbie.

(click here
to read a little bit about this lovely lady.)

At the age of three my mom, known as Patsy then,
had to make a decision that was impossible for anyone to understand.
 Her mother made her decide to leave
 with her, or stay.
My mom had to choose to stay with her older sister and dad,
 never to see her mom again.
Or go with her mom, and never see her sister again.

Two little girls sitting in the back of a car,
 with my "grandmother" begging my mom to get out and go with her.

My mom said no.

My grandpa drove away, leaving my "grandmother", his wife, on the sidewalk.
He drove home to Seattle, trying to figure out how he was going to raise two little girls,
that just saw their mother for the last time.


Below is a picture of  the little girls, 
their mother (standing)
with their paternal grandmother and
 paternal, great grandmother.



My grandpa's mother,
 became a widow about that time and
she was very wealthy.
She told my grandpa, she'd take care of the girls,
while he tried to find work.
Which was hard, because of the depression.
He agreed.

When these two girls were school age,
their grandmother put them in a
fancy boarding school for girls,
Annie Wrights Seminary For Girls.
Bobbie and Pat were the youngest girls there.

After years living in the boarding school,
 their grandmother died and their lives
were disrupted again.

Below are pictures from Bobbie and Pat's 
boarding school days.
Bobbie on the left, Pat (my mom) on the right.

Bobbie and Pat moved in with their dad.
That's when they both started going to a public high school.

My mom told me this was a difficult time.
She was no longer sheltered in the boarding school.
It was her first interaction with boys, which was quite scary for her.
But she had her older sister.

                                                           to be continued...


My mom's younger life  reminds me of
a Shirley Temple movie.
Except, my mom had her sister,
Aunt Bobbie

My Mother

One week ago, I made another trip back to Seattle. Only this time is was to say "Goodbye" to my mother.
She was dying and not a believer.

My mom and I didn't have a relationship for the past 12 years.
Driving over, I had a sense of urgency,
knowing what I had to do.
 I needed to share the Gospel with her before she died.
 It is an 8.5 hour drive from my home.
My husband drove, while I kept reading,
Romans 10:13,
 over and over again.

"for Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

I had plenty of time to read and pray.
 I continued further in
Romans 10:14-17.

"How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?
How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ' How beautiful, are the feet of those who bring Good News of the good things!'
However, they did not all heed the good new; for Isiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?'
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."

I knew what I had to do the minute I saw my mom, tell her about the Gospel.
 And I did!
 I also, wrote out the verse, Romans 10:13 on a piece of paper and taped it to the wall, 
so she could read it.

We talked about the thief on the cross who hung next to Jesus. 
We prayed and my mom became a believer!

All this after not seeing her for years!
The next 5 days were a blur.
 I know God used me and I was obedient.
He reconciled our relationship!

Praise God!

My mother and I talked about Heaven, we sang songs, we laughed and prayed.

It is NEVER too late to reach out to anyone.

My mom died on Saturday night, after telling me,
 " I'm going.".
She was peaceful and happy.
I now know where she is and I will see her again.


~~~~****~~~~


I will continue to write about my relationship with my mom
over the next few weeks.
This will allow my grandchildren
 to understand the past few years 
and for those of you who are interested.