I'll Always Remember

An Arrangement For Ruby
by Moi

Her name was Ruby and she was the 7th of 8 girls born to a farmer in Northern Alabama. Growing up she had to do all the hard work required of a farmer's daughter as well as the domestic chores of cooking , cleaning and sewing . She never questioned her fate because in her day you were living in "high cotton " if you were able to put food on the table and this was usually possible by the sweat of your brow.

She married the son of a farmer and they set up their own household. I was the 2nd daughter, the third of four children. All of us learned responsibility from a very early age. There wasn't a lot of playing or free time as our days were filled with work. We learned to cherish the rare occasions when we could find a respite from the hard toil we did everyday. No wonder country music is filled with either sad or funny songs.

I heard the stories about her growing up but I really don' t remember the sad day that my mother, who was 40 at the time, died from a miscarriage. I was 4 at the time. She was a tall, strong woman but working in the fields non-stop during her 5th pregnancy caused her to lose the baby and her life.

Growing up in the small town where everyone knew her they would always tell me what a wonderful woman she was. I was happy to hear that but I also wished that I had known her myself. There's no void in my life bigger than the one she left. I think of the joy she must have felt when she held me to her breast for the first time and how heart-wrenching it must've been when she realized that she was dying and leaving her children without a loving Mother. She asked her sisters to take care of us but the sad fact was they were not in a position to do so, having children of their own and not making enough to take care of us as well.

I'll always remember today, Mommie Dearest; today, July 2 is your birthday. I truly believe that we will meet again, as mother and daughter and that all our pain and grief will be forgotten in our joy.

Happy Birthday, Ruby.