REAL MOMS OF THE METRO
FINALIST Margie Brown
MARGIE (CENTER) WITH GRANDKIDS ALEXIS AND CHIKIRA AND GREAT- GRANDKIDS ROYALTEE AND A’LAIYAH
Margie laughs that she has been raising kids all her life. She and her husband, William, had three children and fostered two children. Margie has also helped raise one of her five grandchildren and two of her great-grandchildren. She is proud that today, each of her descendants reflects her desire to “do right and be right” and contribute to the community around them. Margie says parenting takes a lot of patience and a lot of practice and oftentimes more listening than instructing. She’s also a firm believer in the power of prayer. “You have to listen to them as well as give your views because all kids and teenagers are different,” advises Margie. “You have to understand where they are coming from and where they are trying to go. We’re not going to agree on everything, but we can meet them halfway and give them a chance.” Her greatest hope is that her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will remember and continue to pass on to the generations to come that she taught them to treat others with kindness.
“To this day, our childhood friends and foster kids keep in touch with my mother and even take time out of their lives to come visit her. And, yes, they still call her mom.” LaTresa, nominator
FINALIST Shelly Fletcher
Just five days after giving birth to her daughter, Emma, Shelly had a stroke and lost complete use of her left side. Doctors told her she likely wouldn’t be able to walk again, and the worries swirled about how she would not only care for her newborn but also return to teaching in her second-grade public school classroom.
Not only did Shelly regain use of her limbs during inpatient care and outpatient rehabilitation, she eventually took up running. As a first grader, Emma wanted to run in the Oklahoma City Memorial Kids Marathon, and Shelly was inspired to join her. Shelly has since run five half marathons. Shelly continues to teach, working with PreK students at First Learning
“In May of 2006, Shelly had a stroke. Her chances of living were slim, but she knew that I needed her and she fought through the recovery process.” Emma, nominator
(ABOVE) SHELLY AND HER DAUGHTER, EMMA, WHO NOMINATED HER (RIGHT) SHELLY RUNNING A HALF MARATHON
Center in Moore. Colleagues and friends she has met since the stroke find what Shelly went through 17 years ago hard to believe as there are almost no residual after-effects today. Emma praises her mom’s strength, determination, faith and love, and Shelly says sometimes being strong means asking for help. “Just being a mom, asking for help is hard,” said Shelly. “But we need to be able to accept help and know we can’t do everything on our own.” Learn more about our 2023 Awesome Moms honorees at metrofamilymagazine. com/2023-awesome-moms-contest-winners.
METROFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM / MAY-JUNE 2023 13
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