Most people who knew her
called her "the Rock"
She was strong willed
and could handle every crisis
LIFE threw her way

Orphaned at an early age
went from house to house
never reaally having a real "HOME"
No Mother, no Father, no siblings
G-d bless the child
who had nothing;
except herself

....She grew
my Father entered her life
when she was 15

he fell in love
and married her
on a one day pass
he was shipped out
the next morning

She went to
live with her
new in- laws
My Grandmother
a Jewish Matriarch
who roled the house
with an iron hand
A working woman
in 1943?
She would sooner
die than stay home
Her husband was a nice guy
but not too strong
he had 'problems"

My Nother worked
(she should have gone
to college- she certainly
had the "smarts")
but it was wartime
and money was

Flash forward: 5 years later
Dad comes home
My Mother DESPERATELY
wants a child
She indeed becomes pregnant
only to have a stillborn son

Being the ROCK
she is
She cries
(in silence0
and vecomes pregnant again
She has a baby girl
Because the hospital was
overwhelmed with newborns;
she could no see her child
She was convinced th at her
child was dead
My Dad "borrowed"nd
doctor's "greens"
and brought my sister
to see her

Flash forward: 3 years later
Mom gets pregnant
The pregnancy is hard
She becomes toxic
and convulses
4 days before her due date
she lands up
in the hospital
She reads an article
about LanazeH
and decides to have the baby
sans medication

I entered the world
early one Saturday Morning
Everything seemed ok
...but it wasn't

She would later find out
that her little
bundle of joy
was handicapped

My toes were curled
indictating Neurologic problems
my speech was bad
my gait was croocked
but my intellectual capacity
was fine

I was plagued with
emotional problems
The Rock had given birth
to child who cried
endlessly

Flash Forward : 40 years
The Rock has Cancer
Her handicapped child takes charge
with no tears (not in public)
I, alone took over
In essence- I became The Rock

I was brought up to believe
that I was normal
and could do anything
...and suprisingly enough,
I dd

....I had to


My mother died
She had seen me the night before
and told me

She knew
When the phone rang
he next morning
he voice on the other end
rold me
that my Mom was gone

IN a matter of minutes,
I made the funeral arranements

It wasn't until that afternoon
I cried

I loved my mother dearly
I owe her a debt I can never
pay back

She gave me- a handicapped;
but smart human
her strength

I don't blame her
for my physical inadeques
I blame the doctor
who failed to
check her protein level

I can only hope
that one day
my children
think of me
as a "ROCK"
who rose up
and took care of
things despite
my condition

I love them all
and would give
my life
for theirs
without a thought

09/02/2011