Known Through Memories

Tomorrow is a big day for everyone, because...well...everyone has at one point had a mother and it is indeed Mother's Day. The day when flowers are abundant and squished loving hugs are taken by mom's who use their day to get as much affection as they can (because the rest of the year us kids are simply too much trouble).

As I contemplated writing a blog about how great my mom was and how much I can count on her (which I very much do), I decided to write about a woman I consider my mom just as much as all my other friend's moms: Sue Brooks.

Let me tell you about Sue Brooks. She is loving, feisty, brave, intelligent, beautiful and wonderful. These things I know about her not because we have met, but because she lives in stories and joy filled memories that Kenze tells us as we go about our lives living in the same apartment together.

I remember the first time Kaitlin and I went to Kenze's house, and we cried together as we read letters and articles written about this great woman. She was an educator. She loved her students, especially Kenze (who received her only "b" from her mother's class). She was not without humor, because I can only imagine seeing her grab Kenze's arm and race toward drunken tailgaters in order to form a fake friendship for free food (you'll have to ask Kenze about that one). When Joseph was being scouted by football coaches, Nick Saban himself showed up at Mrs. Brooks classroom. When asked to wait outside, Saban said, "do you know who I am?" Not to be questioned, she said "do you know who I am?" Haha! How can you not love this woman?

What breaks my heart is that I did not get to meet her before she passed away, but it has been my utmost joy to know her daughter. I know Kenze would not have been the same without the way she was raised, loved, and (sometimes) punished. Kenze Ruth Brooks is an example and living representation of who I believe Sue Brooks was, and still is in heaven.

One of the most commonly uttered phrases in our apartment is "I cannot WAIT to meet your mom in heaven." And that is truly how we feel. We all love her just as we love our own moms. She is a part of our family and will always be. Today Kenze graduated from SFASU, and without a doubt I know Sue was up there shouting and pointing and bragging to the Lord about how beautiful and wonderful and intelligent her daughter is and will continue to be.

Kenze, I love you so much and so does she.

Sue, still can't wait to meet you :)

yours truly,

Katherine