FOCUSED (Mom never wavered)

I hear the music as I work toward fulfilling the dream our mother had; to help her son and others like him and their families. Mom would say often, “I need help.” and she was not ashamed to pray out loud asking God for help. She never waited for help to come around.

She went out looking for it and would ask me all the time to write a letter, write a proposal to the mayor, city council, governor, anyone she thought may be able to offer help. So I did. Now that I think about it, mom believed in me more than I believed in myself. She trusted me enough to express the needs of our family to strangers to obtain help. The music my mother heard back in the early years of Tony’s (Nathaniel) illness was difficult for her to listen too. She was busy orchestrating a concert of her own, reaching out to every resource she found and even reaching out to help others who were mentally ill. It didn’t take long for her to realize that she would have to continue finding help for my brother with or without his cooperation.

Mom knew it was going to take courage and strength, maybe even more than she realized she had.  I never saw any weakness as a young person watching her support my brother.  But I certainly know now that it takes an awful lot to stay on task, focused and to maintain your own health.  She was my “HERO!”