Betty Yates

I know that I've already blogged today, but something came up that I just had to share. I just got off the phone with my dad and for anyone that knows him knows that he always has a story to share and today was no different. Like always he asked me how I was doing and of course I use my "little girl" voice and tell him that I'm doing better than I was. We celebrate together as I tell him that I went the whole day yesterday without tossing my cookies. He then tells me that at least I haven't had to go through what his mom, my grandma, had to go through when she was pregnant with him. So, here comes story time with Randy "tenderness" Yates. When my grandma was carrying my dad, my grandpa had been laid off from his job, which was huge since my grandparents didn't have much in the first place. So, without complaint my grandma went to work. As she progressed in her pregnancy a huge ditch was being dug for sewage right before she got to her work place. There was no other way to get where she needed to go, but to go through it. Now at this point I know you're probably thinking that I'm going to say she had to walk through the sewage, but I'm not that would be completely gross. Luckily (i guess you could call it that) the workers had put down some rickety planks that went across the ditch. So, in my grandma's last couple of months of pregnancy she had to cross these planks with her big ol' belly everyday. Besides the fear of falling and hurting the baby, I'm sure the smell was not so pleasant. Now this story doesn't surprise me one bit, because my grandma has to be the toughest woman I have ever met. My dad didn't know it but when he told me that story he was really helping me put things into perspective. It made me think of the countless women in the past who had to just suck their ailments up and deal with whatever life was handing them. I truly admire my grandma and would love to have just half of the determination and strength she has