Mothers and daughters

There is a bond, between parents and their children that no mater the circumstances always remains intact.
For some reason, probably because of that female quirk that allows them to have a total blow out with a best friend, then take them soup and a card when their feeling under the weather, that mothers and daughters have a very special bond indeed.
My wife, Alice and her mother Willie have had such a unique relationship.
Raising a son and a daughter as a single parent in the 60’s and 70’s had to have seemed impossible at times.
There’s the son, jimmy. All jimmy wanted as a boy growing up was to hunt, fish and raise a little cane. Willie gave him the opportunity to be that boy that became the man that raised a fine family of his own. I am so proud of all his children, my nieces and nephews.

This brings us to Willies daughter, my favorite, my wife, Alice.
Willie tried the typical stuff you do for little girls , dance class and bows, but Alice would have none of it. Instead she could be found playing softball, riding her retired racehorse or tending to a menagerie of critters that somehow found their way to her home. Willie was there, tending to the occasional scraped knee and supporting her kids in what ever path they chose.

Now those of you who had never met my mother in law should know a few things. If you ever met her, you would know exactly how she felt about you in a hurry. Tact was not her strong suit. She could be opinionated, stubborn and so hard headed it would drive you crazy.
I loved all these things about Willie.
She made it clear, after Alice and I had dated for a while, that it would never work out. I loved proving her wrong and to her credit, she finally admitted she may have misjudged me (after we had been married for 15 years).

As Willie grew older the bond between her and Alice became stronger. There were plenty of test and struggles to be sure, but my wife was always there for the trips to the store, the doctor and the occasional jaunt to the casino.

As the end of the journey came nearer, it was a struggle to separate the anger, and the rants brought on by her many health issues and some dementia from the truth, yet Alice stayed strong and with Willie to the end.
I am so proud of my wife. She is without a doubt the strongest woman I know and I owe it all to a very special lady,
Willie-Melancon-Treece.
6-20-1935—3-31-2012