Unconditional love at its best

She was only 18 when she married the love of her life. She was a physically beautiful woman, but more importantly, beautiful inside. She was also a brave woman. I say brave because she not only married at a young age, she also took on the responsibility of four young children, one of them an infant boy whom she later lost. To her this was not a responsibility, these were her children. She never considered them "step" or "his" children. They were "my" children or "our" children. She loved them as most blood mothers love theirs.

When she began having babies she made no difference in any of them. She loved them equally. This is a rare quality to be found among men and women.

She took to motherhood so easily and to my knowledge never complained about having so many young ones to take care of. She did what had to be done and didn't murmur about her lot in life of having 11 children to raise. She just loved and cared for them.

She had none of the modern conveniences that I had when I was raising mine, yet as I think back, she made it look so easy.

The world recently lost her; and as I attended the visitation, I talked to so many people that had the same words and feelings as I had about her.

When speaking of someone she would always say, "little Linda", or when talking to me about my mom, "your little momma".

If there is any goodness in me as a step-mother, I owe it to her. She became my role model. I wanted to be just like her in this capacity and did my best to pattern this part of my life after her.

I never shared this with her and now wish I had, but I feel that somehow she knows.

I believe she portrayed the "unconditional love" better than any

one I have ever known.

My heroine this week is my Aunt Norma Grubbs.

See ya next time somewhere in the Korner.

E-mail me at kdover28@gmail.com or text me at 573-820-2404.