My Hero - Grandma Dora

My Grandma Dora was a very strong woman and I always admired her. She married young, and had six of her nine kids with my grandfather before he passed away. Grandma was still in her twenties when she found herself with six kids, newly pregnant, (by my grandpa), and suddenly a widow. She didn't let that keep her from providing for her family. She worked at least two and sometimes three jobs to make ends meet. This meant she had to leave the kids home alone to tend to each other. She didn't want to but she had no choice if they were going to eat or have a roof over their heads.

The state stepped in, took her children and put them in foster care. They told Grandma that she would have to give the baby, she was pregnant with, up for adoption if she wanted any chance of getting the older children back. It took my grandma two years of fighting to get six of her seven children back. It broke grandma's heart not to be able to get the youngest back, but he had already been adopted by a family who could provide him with a good life so she let it be. None of her other children knew about him.

Pictured: A few of Grandma's Children.

My grandma married two more times, each marriage producing another son to her. Both marriages ended in divorce and grandma raised a total of eight kids on her own. She worked as a waitress and I'm not quite sure how she pulled it off but she did. Once she was down to just having my youngest two uncles at home, she was able to buy a small house. It's the only one I have any memories of her living in.

Pictured: Grandma in a waitress uniform with her oldest daughter. And my second to youngest uncle in Grandma's front yard of the house she owned.

Every Sunday when I was a child Grandma Dora would have the entire family over to her tiny house from breakfast to dinner. We had some good times back then and some days I desperately miss the feeling of us all being together. The last time I counted there was well over one hundred of us in the family now. She lived to be a great-great Grandma, she was the head of the family, and she wouldn't hesitate to put any one of us in line when we needed it.

Pictured: Various pictures of Grandma at family gatherings over the years.

My uncle who was adopted made his way back to grandma when he became an adult. He was happy in life because his adoptive parents were very good to him, but he was curious about his roots and the reasons for his being given up. All of her other children were shocked to learn about him but welcomed him into the family with open arms. He and my grandmother stayed in close touch and had a very healthy relationship.

Grandma taught me how to be a better mom. My son was colic when he was born. I was short on sleep and stressed to say the least. I did not live near family and my husband worked long hours so it was up to me to care for the baby. He was a few months old when I finally got to take him to meet Grandma. He was crying when we walked in and she wanted to hold him. As soon as he landed in her arms, he stopped crying. I was left looking at her as if to say, “How did you do that?!” Grandma smiled and told me that the baby knew I was stressed and I need to be calm for him. That one sentence from her changed how I looked at every thing. Even though I lived away, I made sure both of my children knew her.

Pictured: Various pictures of Grandma with my children, my nephew and my cousin.

The last time I seen my Grandma Dora awake I was hovering over her head in the ER of a hospital. Many of my family members were in the room with her and I was standing by her head. I leaned in so she could see me; I looked her in the eyes and told her I loved her. She mumbled my name and that she loved me too. I kissed her forehead and went back to the waiting room so other family members could have a moment with her as well. I will always be grateful that I had one last chance to say and hear those words with her before she slipped into coma and passed within two weeks of that day.

Luckily the hospital Grandma was in last was very accommodating to our large family and we all had as much time with her as we wanted. I'm grateful to them for the last moments I got to spend with my Grandma Dora. She is my hero and I will always miss her.

Pictured: Me and Grandma Dora.

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