We Don’t Know How Lynn Did It

I sat in my classroom exhausted after a full day of student teaching and couldn’t wait to go home and relax.  I had no clue that teaching would be this draining.  It suddenly dawned on me that for several years my mother

would teach a full day of elementary school special education and then go work her second job from 7-11pm.

I was sitting in my classroom at Eisenhower Middle School and the idea of packing up, going home, cooking food, making sure homework was done, assuring children had rides to practice, and then heading off to work in a call center seemed unfathomable.  But my mother did it.  We don’t know how Lynn did it but we are forever thankful that she did.

I was read Stuart Scott’s biography “Every Day I Fight” where he chronicles his battle with Cancer.  While reading, I placed the book down and tears filled my eyes as I contemplated what my mom must have gone through my freshman year in high school as she fought against breast cancer.  I reflected on what she must have gone through because I honestly didn’t know how much she really struggled.  Why?  Because, she seemed to never stop, never to let it affect her, and never let it slow her down.  As a 14 year old freshman, I didn’t understand the severity of cancer because my mother made it look so non-life threatening.  We don’t know how Lynn did it but we are forever thankful that she did.

I was listening to the radio and a caller called in to discuss how bad the father of her children.  I couldn’t help but ponder how justified my mother would have been to cut us off from our father, bad mouth him, or etc as he battled with addiction.  But she never did.  My mother did everything in her power to help us keep that relationship alive.   Our current relationship with our Father is stronger than it has ever been and is a direct result of my mother.  The sacrifices she made allowed us to maintain a mostly positive relationship with our father as children.  We don’t know how Lynn did it but we are forever thankful that she did.

We sometimes ask our Mother how she was able to do this or do that and her response is simply, “I did whatever I had to do for my children”.  In a recent conversation, my mom mentioned how she would like to be able to leave a monetary gift for each of her children when she moves on.  My Mother claimed she wanted to leave with us a legacy.  I rudely laughed during this serious discussion and explained to my Mother that it would be foolish to think any amount of money could ever equal all that she had done for us.  We are her Legacy!  We would not be here today if it wasn’t for Lynn Bacchus.  We don’t know how Lynn did it but she provided us with everything we ever needed and more.  We are forever Thankful!