My mother and I were estranged when her life ended, and I'm still processing how I feel about that. That makes Mother's Day complicated -- as if it wasn't already.
So on a happier note, let me thank a few of the women who influenced my life in addition to my mother.
Grace Wilson Emery: My mother's oldest sister -- born in 1908, I believe -- was definitely my role model. While my mother was a tomboy who preferred blue jeans to party dresses, Grace was just the opposite. The story I always tell to explain who she was? When I was little girl -- 5 or younger -- living on a farm outside a town of 1,000 in southwestern Idaho, my aunt Grace came to visit. She brought a steamer trunk full of shoes and matching handbags and a full complement of jewelry. It explains so many things about who I am -- including why I need two suitcases to pack for three days in Austin!
DeanE Walker: I hadn't been at The Springdale News long when a tall, elegant woman with jet black hair -- except for the silver stripe in the front -- walked in and sat down at my desk. She explained to me she was DeanE Walker, director of the Miss Northwest Arkansas Pageant, which I would henceforth be covering. Not on a bet, I thought. Round girls do not like beauty pageants. But DeanE convinced me that there was a lot to be said for putting your best foot forward, and she helped me learn to do that myself, round or not. I miss her terribly.
Paula Thompson: Paula and I met doing the Northwest Arkansas Gridiron Show, that strange conglomeration of jokes and songs and skits put on by journalists every year. A veteran theater person, she was trying to direct the show -- which was like herding cats wearing razor-sharp snowshoes. I think she only lasted a year at the helm, but we became fast friends. She was ... like the world's best hug personified, complete with the smell of homemade cookies and hot tea. She taught me how to be a better person, a better adult -- and although I'm still not good at it, she gets the credit for any improvement I've made over the years. I miss her terribly too.
June Baker Martin: June -- known as Granny from the moment Amanda came on the scene -- was my mother-in-law. She was also the best human being I have ever known. I wrote somewhere else in the last couple of days that she taught me about unconditional love the day she stood up from my couch with her nice black dress slacks covered in cat hair and had nothing to say but how much she liked our cat. She was simply goodness brought to life, and I try every day to be more like her.
Jeanie Craft Spencer: I never met Jeanie. She passed away 18 months or so before I met her widowed husband, who became my life partner. But Jeanie set a standard worth living up to. She raised two wonderful daughters, wrangled Gordon for 28 years, sewed and cooked and did all the domestic things I still don't really like, worked in her church and was loved and admired by everyone she met. Why is she on my list? Because through her, I gained two young women and a granddaughter I adore. And for that -- for her -- I will always be grateful.
Happy Mother's Day.
NAN Profiles on 05/12/2019