My Hero- My GrandmaMoying's hero, Lao Lao, is an extremely strong woman who sacrifices for her family. My Grandma is also a very strong person with an amazing faith who sacrifices for her family on a daily basis. I hope if I ever go through as many struggles in life that she has, I stay strong and keep my faith.
My grandma Marilyn and my grandpa Bob. My Grandma Marilyn went through several obstacles in her life. Her first struggle was when she was in grade school. She had a very low self confidence because she didn't feel she was as pretty as all the other girls. She also thought she wasn't as intelligent as everyone else. Next, a large obstacle was her father. He constantly picked on her and she never felt loved by him because he never hugged or kissed him. He never drove her anywhere either. No matter where she went and how far it was, he always made her walk or drive the bus because he never wanted to drive her and he was the only one in the family who could drive. He constantly yelled at her and even hit her on occasion. She tried to avoid fighting with him by "killing him with love" and even gave him the silent treatment, but this didn't stop the fighting so she moved out and moved in with her grandma. This made her mom very upset and she made her return to their house. One day, during a fight, her father got so mad that he threatened not to walk her down the aisle at her wedding. This killed her, so he used this threat more often. She eventually stopped caring. Eventually, when my grandma got engaged, her mom would not let her walk down the aisle alone and made her ask her father to walk with her. She told him he could, but if he wasn't there when the music started to play, she was going to walk alone. This made her mom extremely upset, but she accepted it. Her father did end up showing up next to her last minute though, so he walked her down the aisle and she didn't see him at all the rest of that day. The only gift her father ever gave her was a black locket with her grandparents on the inside of it. It was small, but she appreciated it just the same. From this experience, she realized "what doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger," but she proclaimed that she was strong from the beginning, and she had to be in order to live in a situation like that.
My grandma and grandpa on their wedding day. Her next big obstacle was her first serious boyfriend. She was in love with him and wanted to marry him. However, neither of them had much money and they couldn't afford a wedding or even support themselves, so they ended up slowly growing apart. She also struggled with her faith for a small part of her life. When she was twenty, the feminist movement started and the church wasn't up to date with the movement. She started going away from the eucharist and stopped taking it. She continued going to church, but wouldn't take the eucharist. She told her priest about this and he told her that this is normal, but she should continue taking the eucharist. She decided to go on a retreat to help her out as well. This retreat was called a Crusillo and it was like a second baptism. This retreat changed her life and helped her realize that she's Catholic because she wasnts to be, not because she was raised a Catholic.
This is my grandma's mom's rosary that she gave me for my first communion. Her next struggle was being a wife. She was a quintessential single girl who had money from a job she got, a car, got to travel, went on lots of dates, and never cooked, cleaned, or washed her clothes or the dishes because her Italian grandma always took care of her. Then when she got married, she got pregnant on her honeymoon and had to quit her job to take care of her children and her house. She also had to move to Fort Knox, Kentucky because that is where her husband worked and she had to start cooking and cleaning for her family. She missed her mom and friends terribly. She constanly prayed to get her through this sudden change in her life. Then becoming a mother was another large obstacle she had to overcome. She went into motherhood not knowing how to be a mother, nurse, or really raise kids. Being in Fort Knox also made things harder because none of her friends or family members lived there and she had trouble making friends, especially ones who could help her. The things that got her through the first few years of motherhood were prayer and her mom. She improved in being a mother as the years went on.
This is my grandma, grandpa, and all of their children, including their new son-in-law, at their daughter's wedding. Lastly, my grandma had terrible struggles with sicknesses. She had forgotten about her past with her father after not being with him for a while, but one day he became horribly sick. She then realized that she had to make ammends with him. Then she realized that she did not truly love him and he never truly loved her. Her conclusion was that if they never loved each other, why bother? He never really knew the person she was and now never will. "Some answers are that there isn't an answer." Then, when she was forty, she started getting sick with lupus. It took her two years to find out what was really wrong with her and she had to start taking medicine. Every time she took the medicine, she told and convinced herself that she wasn't really sick. However, now she admits that she wouldn't trade her sickness of the world because it showed her how much God, Mary, her Gaurdian Angel, her mom, and even her dad really love her and care for her. The following is a video that I made devoted to my grandma:
Click hereto go straight to animoto if the video has trouble loading.
My Grandma Marilyn went through several obstacles in her life. Her first struggle was when she was in grade school. She had a very low self confidence because she didn't feel she was as pretty as all the other girls. She also thought she wasn't as intelligent as everyone else. Next, a large obstacle was her father. He constantly picked on her and she never felt loved by him because he never hugged or kissed him. He never drove her anywhere either. No matter where she went and how far it was, he always made her walk or drive the bus because he never wanted to drive her and he was the only one in the family who could drive. He constantly yelled at her and even hit her on occasion. She tried to avoid fighting with him by "killing him with love" and even gave him the silent treatment, but this didn't stop the fighting so she moved out and moved in with her grandma. This made her mom very upset and she made her return to their house. One day, during a fight, her father got so mad that he threatened not to walk her down the aisle at her wedding. This killed her, so he used this threat more often. She eventually stopped caring. Eventually, when my grandma got engaged, her mom would not let her walk down the aisle alone and made her ask her father to walk with her. She told him he could, but if he wasn't there when the music started to play, she was going to walk alone. This made her mom extremely upset, but she accepted it. Her father did end up showing up next to her last minute though, so he walked her down the aisle and she didn't see him at all the rest of that day. The only gift her father ever gave her was a black locket with her grandparents on the inside of it. It was small, but she appreciated it just the same. From this experience, she realized "what doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger," but she proclaimed that she was strong from the beginning, and she had to be in order to live in a situation like that.
Her next big obstacle was her first serious boyfriend. She was in love with him and wanted to marry him. However, neither of them had much money and they couldn't afford a wedding or even support themselves, so they ended up slowly growing apart. She also struggled with her faith for a small part of her life. When she was twenty, the feminist movement started and the church wasn't up to date with the movement. She started going away from the eucharist and stopped taking it. She continued going to church, but wouldn't take the eucharist. She told her priest about this and he told her that this is normal, but she should continue taking the eucharist. She decided to go on a retreat to help her out as well. This retreat was called a Crusillo and it was like a second baptism. This retreat changed her life and helped her realize that she's Catholic because she wasnts to be, not because she was raised a Catholic.
Her next struggle was being a wife. She was a quintessential single girl who had money from a job she got, a car, got to travel, went on lots of dates, and never cooked, cleaned, or washed her clothes or the dishes because her Italian grandma always took care of her. Then when she got married, she got pregnant on her honeymoon and had to quit her job to take care of her children and her house. She also had to move to Fort Knox, Kentucky because that is where her husband worked and she had to start cooking and cleaning for her family. She missed her mom and friends terribly. She constanly prayed to get her through this sudden change in her life. Then becoming a mother was another large obstacle she had to overcome. She went into motherhood not knowing how to be a mother, nurse, or really raise kids. Being in Fort Knox also made things harder because none of her friends or family members lived there and she had trouble making friends, especially ones who could help her. The things that got her through the first few years of motherhood were prayer and her mom. She improved in being a mother as the years went on.
Lastly, my grandma had terrible struggles with sicknesses. She had forgotten about her past with her father after not being with him for a while, but one day he became horribly sick. She then realized that she had to make ammends with him. Then she realized that she did not truly love him and he never truly loved her. Her conclusion was that if they never loved each other, why bother? He never really knew the person she was and now never will. "Some answers are that there isn't an answer." Then, when she was forty, she started getting sick with lupus. It took her two years to find out what was really wrong with her and she had to start taking medicine. Every time she took the medicine, she told and convinced herself that she wasn't really sick. However, now she admits that she wouldn't trade her sickness of the world because it showed her how much God, Mary, her Gaurdian Angel, her mom, and even her dad really love her and care for her.
The following is a video that I made devoted to my grandma:
Click hereto go straight to animoto if the video has trouble loading.