Grandma's 'Two Cents' -Mom and Being Grateful

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Sharon Leonard
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This blog is named for my Irish Grandmother, Mary Ellen Lee-Hughes, who taught me to use logic and common sense when navigating through life situations.

While my Grandmother raised six children on her own, three boys and three girls, she always worked hard to support her family. She had to be very strict with children ages 2 through 8 years old. One thing she instilled in her children was the love of God. My Mother was only 3 years old when her Father died, she was the youngest girl in her family and was raised to do as she was told. Despite having to work very hard her entire life, my Mother was always grateful and always put God first. She was very practical. She raised the five of us along with my Dad, who worked two jobs; teacher and Full Colonel in the Air Force. My Mom was constantly carting five kids here and there. She wore many hats, Mom, Taxi driver, teacher, head of household, mentor, arbitrator, psychologist...times five. Her top two qualities: Sense of humor and always knowing the right thing to say at the right time. We all worked hard and we knew she had our backs. We were somewhat poor but we didn't know it. We loved our childhood because there was a balance of work, play and prayer.

One of the most important 'life lessons' we learned from Mom is to be grateful. It's not how she said it but more how she lived it. She never complained about things that went wrong. She always brought up the good side of things and was happy and optimistic in the face of hard times. For example, our house burnt down to the ground when I was a junior in highschool. Mom and Dad worked so hard for us kids and one day it all went up in smoke. Rather than complain she got straight to work. We all pitched in cleaning a temporary home while ours was rebuilt. We knew better than to complain, it was not an option. We were reminded that other than our one cat, no-one was hurt and we still had each other. We first went to our cousins, Mom's older sister Joanne's house, where we some how managed to laugh and have fun because of my cousins, beautiful Aunt Joanne and Uncle Dick. Everything always seemed to be alright because Mom focused on the positive. She would always remind us, "Remember how lucky you are that God gave you feet to walk and hands to help." We were raised Irish Catholic but her focus was more on being kind to others, never putting yourself before anyone, and thanking God. She wasn't strict with 'dogma' although we never missed church on Sunday. Her practical ways found a way of clearing up questions as far as judgement and God. First of all, God is a loving God not judgemental as some have tried to imply. Mom never gossiped about others and always pointed out the good in them. There was never any competition with neighbors or friends, only support and happiness for them. The key to all of this was being grateful. She would remind us "You are so lucky to be you, would you ever want to trade places and become an entirely different person?" She was simply grateful. Now that I'm older I realize how lucky I was to have my Mother to remind us of the importance of being grateful. Gratefulness equates to loving life and love is equal to God. When we are grateful it's hard to get upset about anything. Granted their is a time for justified anger when something is trying to take away our freedom to be grateful and exercise free will. This is a time to fight for the freedom to be grateful for the things our Creator has put on the earth for us to enjoy: Nature, people, and the hard work it takes to maintain these gifts. Gratefulness in helping others, that we are able to do so. Grateful for leaders who protect our freedoms and God given rights. Grateful to those who stand for truth. Grateful for being able to see through things that are focusing on hate, control or judgement rather than love. Grateful for those who protect the innocent, no matter what it takes. Grateful simply to be. My Mom taught us to be truly grateful, is to love and that is what life is all about.

Sharon Leonard
Sharon Leonard 4 months ago
The pic above and this article is about my Mother, Ann Catherine Hughes-Munch. It shows up under my 'Grandma's Two Cents' Blog written in honor of my Gram. My Mother was the pillar of our family and the sweetest lady, a Saint on Earth.❤️🙏🏻
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Xileen
Xileen 1 year ago
That is such a touching story. I wonder how some people would fare today under those same circumstances, even considering that now women have a lot more choices, opportunities and luxuries too!

Your Grandma's generation really was "The Greatest Generation"
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