By Richard Mabey Jr.

My mom, Janet Kemmerer Mabey, began attending college at County College of Morris when she was in her early forties, in the early part of the 1970’s. At the same time, Mom was looking out for the safety of the children of Lincoln Park, serving as a Crossing Guard. Mom would cross the children, walking to school, at the corner of Clover Lane and Main Street. After her morning time at her post was completed, Mom would either drive to CCM to attend classes or study and do homework.

The tricky part of it all was that Mom also had to be at her post about quarter to three, every weekday afternoon. So, that made it very difficult to arrange her classes in between that tight time frame. Mom took quiet a few psychology courses. She loved studying what made people tick, what made them do the things that they did. My mom had a wonderful empathetic heart.

Mom’s goal was to become a grade school teacher. Mom did earn an Associate’s Degree. It was shortly thereafter that Mom began getting severe headaches. Mom went to one doctor after another. Finally, one doctor took Mom so very seriously and ordered that she go to a neurologist, who ordered a scan be taken of Mom’s brain. And, sadly, they found several brain aneurysms.

Mom had four brain surgeries, in the course of her life. I don’t know how she did it. Mom was an incredibly brave woman with a very strong faith in God. I deeply admired Mom’s courage. Mom loved working as a Crossing Guard. She just loved children. Plain and simple, Mom loved the precious little ones.

Sometimes we may feel like our dreams have passed us by. Please know that it’s never too late. Never. Although Mom never did become a grade school teacher, she did attend college for two years. Mom met some wonderful people in her time attending CCM. She made some new friends along the way.

Life is not easy. Sometimes we may tend to give in to tough times and give up on our dreams. But that’s just the time that we need to dig our heels into the dirt, put the ploy firmly to our shoulders, and deeply focus on our dreams, our goals, our secret ambitions. The key is to never give up! Never give up! Never, ever give up!

Richard Mabey Jr. is a freelance writer. He can be reached at richardmabeyjr@hotmail.com. Please put on the subject line: I Remember Mom.