In June of 2001 Mom wrote a long passage about her roots and the family she grew up with. She has told all of us for many years that "we have the best family on earth" and she always repeated what to her was the evidence that proved it.
Here is a small part of what she wrote:
"I wish every family to have the best memories as I do at this time and can leave a great legacy of happiness for Darnalls and Paces, beautiful people. They were caring Christian folks all our beautiful life together in my memory from early childhood. Norma (her younger sister) and I spent many summers with all our grandparents here on our farm which Dad and Mom bought in 1927. I has a happy person all my life here on the Darnall estate. We have the GOOD LIFE."
After her grandmother died, her dad moved the family from Paducah, where they had lived nearly 10 years, back to the Marshall country farm in 1934 to care for her grandfather. She always told me those were the happiest days of her life until she married my dad in 1937. Here is her description of life on the farm:
"The house daddy bought from Grandpa was a large two story house, big rooms and I really liked that house. There were approximately 60 acres of fine land which my parents rented out to be tended. We had a deep well to draw water, no faucets as we had been accustomed to in Paducah, no electricity, only lamps to fill with oil and no electric stove to cook, only a wood stove in our big kitchen. Daddy still had to drive many years to Paducah every day to work at the Illinois Central Railroad shops in new cars he bought every two years."
She later wrote:
"All our family make life so wonderful for me in this beautiful part of the world.
We have never ending love that lasts forever. Harold has been the center of it all and I miss him more after living alone for 10 years. I'm not a grieving person, so life is very GOOD with much family and many many friends. They are the greatest. Never a dull moment for Mema. Life is too short for grief. Family brings happy days."
In my opinion and observation, one of life's saddest tragedies is the absence of a closely knit family of love and support. I have sat many hours with angry, depressed people of all ages who have no experience of real love from parents, siblings and extended family. They never seem to be able to put their lives into a positive focus so their disappointment with it all rubs off on everyone around them.
God intended that families be the training ground for eternity. We learn how to live together in a supporting, loving, forgiving way no matter the circumstances we have to face. As long as we do it together, all of us make it to a better day. My family modeled that for us and the Rose and I have tried and continue to pass that along to our own family of 15 very special, much loved people. I agree with Amazing Mema, life is GOOD every day because of family. Thank you God for all of them!
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