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Of course, with all this openness and vulnerability I had to reciprocate, so the conversation continued and she asked us where we were from. She then admitted she had no idea where that was, and had only left North Carolina once in all her 40 years, to cross the line into Virginia to go to a Target. I showed her on a map where we lived in relation to the Outer Banks, and then she wanted to know what the geography was like.
She’s a mother of seven, the first five with her husband who was hit by an IED in Iraq and is now heavily disabled with PTSD and physical wounds. She’s been together with him since she was 15, and her oldest is 18. Her last two children were as a surrogate; they live with their father and they call her “Mom.”
Somehow, it came out that we all liked reading books, and she wants to write a book. She wants to write her book about her relationship with God, and how it’s helped her. We wouldn’t believe all the things she’s been though, she told us. I told her I was writing a book, and she asked what it was about, and said it sounded interesting.
If we needed any baby clothes, she told us, she manages a children’s clothing store next door during the days. When I told her I needed to shop for a baby shower, she encouraged me to stop by as the clothes are all organic.
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