part iii- meeting the moms
We are on the third segment of Meeting the Pansy’s. You’ve met the namesake and the purple. That’s where it all got started. Those ladies laid a path that was followed by their daughter and then ultimately by their granddaughter. But today we are going to focus on the moms.
Meeting the Moms. Floyd’s mom and mine. We’ve all heard the jokes about sisters from another mother. Well that’s us. Although we’ve only spoke of my grandmothers there is another butt kicking, wonderful lady in this mix.
Meet Amazin’ Gracie
Gracie was a feisty, wonderful, unapologetic lady that was born of true grit. She lost her mother at age 14 and raised her brother after that. (Sound familiar?) She, like many grew up poor but never let that slow her down. Giving up was NOT in her vocabulary.
Although she was married she spent a lot of that time alone, raising her 3 children. Her husband was a truck driver and on the road, but did what he had to do to put food on the table. But that never slowed Gracie down.
whatever it takes
Long before there was women’s lib or Feminist rants Gracie knew that if you needed something done then she was the one that had to do it. Whether it was grilling outside in the snow because there was no power or fixing a faucet that leaked. She was the woman of all trades when it came to fixing what needed fixing.
have faith
Amazin’ Gracie is pretty accurate. It could have been surviving the day to day or leaning on her never ending faith in God. She met each day head on. If she liked you, it was “hello sugar” and if she didn’t..well.
She knew how to laugh at herself as well. (I guess you are seeing a theme). One such memory was when she, Floyd and Floyd’s dad loaded up a stereo into the back of a pick up to move it into an apartment. Gracie decided that she belonged in the back to hold on to it. Imagine this, the stereo slides as they hit a bump but Gracie goes flying! Bounce, bounce down the street like a ball. Thankfully bruised pride was the worst of it. I guess she was flying on the wings of an angel for that one. She brushed herself off, they all got a good laugh and moved on. But that was Gracie.
This amazing woman had a daughter. My Floyd. She raised her with that same grit and determination. She stayed with us and faced life on her terms leaving a legacy that is carried on today in everything that Floyd encounters.
Gracie is our honorary Pansy. 
meeting mom
Where do I begin? As you may have noticed she had my heart. Mom married when she had been 16 y.o. for only 4 months. She grew up in the depression wearing dresses made from feedsacks. When Dolly Parton came out with the song Coat of Many Colors in 1971 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_Many_Colors_(song) that song became mom’s anthem. She really had a coat of many colors. The words to the song were true to her. And just like in the song, she realized then as always the value of the gift of love. 
She traveled with my dad 800 miles away with no family around. They did the best they could do until that 1st little surprise (after a blanket on the ground in the park). Mom left high school and would later go back and get her G.E.D. when she was 40. I can’t tell you how proud I was of her that day.
She worked outside the home pretty much my entire life, carving out a road with sheer determination and natural smarts. She finally retired at age 73.
the eternal sunshine
Mom was the eternal optimist. If it rained then “we would make our own sunshine”, if you had a bowl of lemons then, you guessed it, you made lemonade. After I became an adult I would think back to the meals that she made. How she always wanted the wing of the chicken because it was her favorite but in reality it was the least portion. She wore our hand me downs.
I never heard her complain. About anything. And there were opportunities to do so. Like her mother before her she had a strong faith that she displayed and demonstrated by actions.
She was fun and irreverent with a sense of the ridiculous. Probably the thing I miss most, is laughing with her.
Ah Mom. You might wonder why this is the only name she is known by. When she and Floyd met there were never any first names. Everyone I guess was so used to hearing me talk about her that could only be how she was addressed. Floyd, our hairdresser. Everyone loved her. Afterall, she was the fun one.
Mostly, she was the third Pansy in our group. Floyd and I started together as just two but it could be no other way but to have mom as the 3rd. And so the Purple Pansy’s came to be.
We are back to two now. We raise a glass of wine and tell stories about the laughter we shared. But rest assured she was and will always be a Purple Pansy.
till next time
I hope that you have enjoyed this introduction and foray into the past. Next week we will complete the segment and bring you into the story of Floyd and I and how we met. I think you can see from the historic ladies of our past that it was fated.
Until next week I am as always….
Sassalee yours