TEXARKANA MAGAZINE F ebruary is known for Valentine’s Day and Heart Health Awareness Month, both evoking images of love and reminding us to show our appreciation to those we hold close. I could write to you all about how much I love my husband, or take this chance to celebrate my sweet daddy’s Valentine’s Day birthday. But I really want to talk about our family’s number one love—my dad calls her Shelley, I call her Momma, and my kids call her “Love.” It started when my husband and I were dating and had our first child, our dog Palmer. He was the most spoiled, overweight, people- loving boxer you’d ever seen. Palmer lived with John while I was still in college, but at my mom’s request, he would go to “Love and Pops’” house most days while John went to work. My mom could not stand the thought of the dog being home alone in a kennel. Although we encouraged the kennel at her house, too, Momma did what she usually does. If she didn’t like it, she didn’t do it. They ended up replacing at least seven chewed TV remotes, paying a few fines from animal control after neighbors reported him roaming the streets, and
listening ears, and advice to anyone who needs it. When Daddy was in private practice, she was the receptionist everyone loved. She kept a book on the counter for patients to write their prayer requests, and every day she would cover each of them in prayer. Heck, when Britney Spears was in a legal battle over her conservatorship, I remember scrolling Instagram to find a comment Momma left inviting Britney to join our family for Thanksgiving and Christmas… and she meant it! I watched my mom give up so much of her life to take care of my grandmother until she passed in 2019. Momma was the grocery service, emergency contact, chauffeur, and the one her siblings counted on to make decisions and handle situations. She even kept all three of my children before they were old enough for preschool, and the relationship they each have with her is close and so very precious. When Momma loves, she does so fiercely, selflessly, and with her whole heart. My parents are junior high sweethearts, and their 43-year marriage is rooted deep, deep down in devotion,
there’s still a hole in her original, signed oriental rug. But in true fashion, Momma wasn’t even upset about the rug because “it adds character.” We should have known Love’s unwavering admiration and shenanigans with Palmer would be just a glimpse of what was to come with her actual grandchildren. The Albertine Award is a known acknowledgment in our immediate and extended families as recognition for creating an unusual or outside-of-the-box solution to a problem. Albertine was Momma’s maternal grandmother, and after her husband died, Albertine had to find ways to support her three
admiration, and respect for each other. When we were kids, I remember my brother and I being so embarrassed when they stopped the car to dance in the street to their favorite song. Now that I’m older, I admire how they weren’t thinking about anyone or anything but making that memory together. Their commitment to each other has outshone any dark time, and not being together has never been an option—we know their prayer has even been to go to Heaven together. A virtual picture frame sits in their living room, scrolling through pictures of everyone she loves, from family members to friends (and their family
Liz and her mother, Shelley “Love” Gabbie
children. They had a cow for milk, but couldn’t afford to feed it, so Albertine made a deal with local school leaders to keep their grass cut with the cow and to keep the cow patties cleaned up, and as rumor has it, today it’s a beautiful football field. Momma has, without a doubt, received the Albertine Award more than any other family member. She has walked dogs with jumper cables when she couldn’t find a leash, spray painted dead shrubs green, and finagled a squirrel trap with a plate of peanut butter, and a pool net rubbed down with olive oil, fastened with duct tape to the diving board over the water. When she couldn’t find scissors, she cut my Aunt Mommy’s (her identical twin sister) hair with gardening shears. Momma is creative, smart, and not afraid to try something different. When my daughter was less than two years old, Momma put her in a Bumbo seat and sat it on top of a lazy Susan in the middle of the Thanksgiving table so she could see everyone and be a part of the meal. As funny as she is, though, I doubt the world will ever see someone more giving than my mother. She has given her resources,
members!) to Queen Elizabeth. As the internet would have it, a random family’s pictures were mistakenly loaded into her frame, and she not only kept them there but recognized when one of them had a baby or got married. She is a nurturer, and if something is important to us, it’s important to her. But don’t be deceived. She can still hold a grudge against someone who was ugly to me or my brother in high school. Momma taught me it’s ok to cry and worry, but there’s also a time to swallow your cry and be strong. Her heart is full with a crowded dining table and a glass of “dry, oaky, with no licorice” cabernet. She is a breast cancer survivor, and she showed us that when an entire birthday cake falls on the floor, it’s ok to grab a fork and eat it right from the tile. Momma makes me laugh every single day. She keeps my secrets, and she is my very best friend. I hope to mimic the example she has given for what a wife, mother, and friend should be. It’s certainly not lost on me how incredibly blessed we are to have her as our very own, very special kind of Love.
60
LIFE & STYLE
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs