On December 13, 1992, my dear mother completed suicide with a gun. She had been very ill and had recently lost my dad suddenly and unexpectedly from a heart attack on her 73rd birthday. She suffered all her life with severe depressive episodes but had been doing well for many years. Losing my daddy after 53 years together was, I believe, more than she could bear.
Nothing in my life prepared me for losing my mama in that violent manner. She was my best friend. She was beautiful inside and out, had a great sense of humor, had a lovely singing voice, and was the best cook ever. She was the most non-judgmental person I’ve ever known. You could talk to her about anything and she listened with understanding and compassion. So many people helped me during that difficult time that I decided to go back to college and become a school counselor. I counseled kids of all ages for 17 years. Helping others was my way of healing and bringing some good out of my loss. I miss mama every day, but I was very blessed to have her for 37 years.