It was only a moment ago that I was cross-stitching "I love Grandma and Grandpa" on a newborn
t-shirt. Bill and I were so excited when we found out we were going to be expanding our family. At the time we were living in a tiny, white frame, 600 square foot house in Denver, Colorado. We didn't have a penny to our name and had rented the house from a gracious lady with the promise that we would have a well-paying job soon. Bill was attending seminary and I had a temporary part-time job. We were too happy to be afraid of all the responsibility. We felt too blessed to be overwhelmed by our lack of money.
Bill soon found a great job working for an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor and we started getting things in order. The pregnancy went very smoothly. I loved almost every minute of being pregnant and we anxiously awaited Bethany's arrival.
Bethany was born 19 inches long and a weight of 7 pounds 1.5 ounces. She was healthy and absolutely beautiful. My best friend, Ann, had her baby across the hall from us in the hospital just a few hours after Bethany was born. We were so excited to be entering motherhood together. Neither one of us knew what we were doing, but we knew we had each other and great husbands by our sides.
We took Bethany home and the next month was full of sleepy days and awake nights. We took turns letting each other sleep and loved on our sweet Bethany. It wasn't long before we had concerns over Bethany's weight. She couldn't gain weight. After many doctors visits, hospital visits, blood draws, nursing and nutrition evaluations, we still didn't have any answers, nor did we have any weight gain. Bethany was being nursed and given formula and cereal with formula mixed in it throughout the day and she still didn't gain weight. My mother flew out for support and finally we found a doctor that had some answers. He diagnosed her with "Renal Tubular Acidosis." He said that within weeks of taking the medicine she would be fine and she was. We were so grateful for the huge and quick turnaround in her health.
In those early days Bill and I were determined for her. We were determined to find the answers. We were determined to give her anything she needed. It wasn't long, however, before we saw the determination in Bethany. At the age of four, she was determined to be able to read American Girl books by the end of the year. The books are written for a second or third grade level, so I told her that would be pretty tough since she didn't know how to read yet. After catching Bethany under blankets with a flashlight reading books and finding her in the bathtub reading books, we realized how determined she was to reach her goal and amazingly, she did.
As a student, Bethany was incredibly determined. I taught her at home the first 10 years and she was a wonderful student. She was motivated, interested, and pushed herself every step of the way. She loved to learn. Later she went into public school for ninth grade. It wasn't long before she was determined to graduate early and she finished school one month after she turned 17. I had to beg her to walk the stage 8 months later. I couldn't understand then why it wasn't important to Bethany, but now I know. It was because she was already on to new goals and was determined to meet them.
I always wanted my daughters to be strong, independent, and able to stand on their own two feet when they were grown. It made for some colorful moments during the teen years, but she is an amazingly strong, independent and successful woman. She never ceases to amaze me!
Since Bethany's graduation, she became fluent in sign language and spanish, tutored adults in literacy, built trails in Oregon and Washington while carrying a 60-70 pound pack (she only weighed 100 pounds) and welded a bike and took it to Italy where she rode around the coast. Then she rode her bike to Mexico and back. It was only in the last 100 miles she discovered she was pregnant. I will never forget her saying, "Mom, I knew something was wrong because I just couldn't make the last 100 miles (this was after riding 700 miles)."
Yesterday marked the achievement of another goal for Bethany. While working part-time counseling mothers (mostly in Spanish), being a wife and a mother of a two-year old, Bethany finished her degree in Community Health. She graduated from Texas Women's University Magna Cum Laude. She often got up at five or six in the morning to work on her studies.
Living Shoes is about the stories behind each pair of shoes. It would take a huge pile of shoes to show all of the dimensions of Bethany, but her historic Harley-Davidson steel-toed boots incapsulate her determination the most. I have learned many things from Bethany, but I am always inspired by her determination. I am proud of her goals and the great lengths she takes to reach them. I don't know where the next part of her journey will take her, but I see so much of my mom and dad in her. She has such a huge heart for the marginalized in society, for those that don't have a voice, and for people that need to be heard. I am very proud of her.
From dictionary.com:
de·ter·mi·na·tion [dih-tur-muh-ney-shuhn] Show IPA
noun
1 the act of coming to a decision or of fixing or settling a purpose.
