At 21 My Mother Escaped From Polygamy.

My Mother is the original Conservative Babe, even if she didn’t know it.

At age 21 my mother escaped from polygamy. She ran away from life in Mexico, an alcoholic husband, her other sister wives and a freaking crazy religion and family who told her she was going to hell.

They told her she would be dammed for leaving her so-called marriage and life in plural marriage, for life in the United States as a single mom. She got away by crawling out of a basement window after my biological father threatened to beat her again. She had the courage to get OUT with only two duffel bags and her two small babies. I was 2-years-old at the time. The next few years were unbelievably hard. Every day was an uphill battle. When my mother left she had no job, no car, and no plan.

Saved she had to get out of an abusive situation and that’s exactly what she did. My mother is the most courageous and bravest woman I’ve ever known. One memory, in particular, inspires me. When I was a little girl I remember sitting in a stroller with my younger brother and endlessly going door to door in neighborhoods while my mother sold little plates of cookies. When people would ask her “what cause are you selling cookies for?”

She would simply reply:

“I’m a single mom, and I refuse to go on welfare. I’m selling cookies to feed my kids and keep a roof over our head.”

That’s the kind of woman she was. She didn’t want a handout, she wanted a hand up. She didn’t sit around and whining while sitting on her butt. She did everything she could to support her babies. She then took night classes in college and worked hard to get into real estate.

You see, she is the original Conservative Babe, even if she didn’t know it. She taught me that hard work and perseverance will take you farther in life than any handouts or whining about the little man. God bless my mother. I hope someday I can have the kind of strength and courage that she has.