berea: week one
She is there each time you walk in, sit, and eat at dining. She swipes your card, and, if you are lucky, she will tell you to have a good day.
“I’m just Pat,” she said with a smile.
Ms. Pat lived with her grandparents for most of her life. “I thought they was my momma and dad,” she said. “We got one check a month and my neighbors would give me clothes to wear.”
One day, Ms. Pat’s grandmother sat her down and said, “It’s about time I told you something.” She began to tell Pat the story of her real parents. Her father was killed before she was born and her mother died from tuberculosis when she was just 18 weeks old. Her grandmother died two weeks after this conversation.
With her grandmother gone and a grandfather beginning to “lose his mind,” Ms. Pat moved in with foster parents.
In her youth, Ms. Pat was a rapid dancer. “I would go out and dance!” she laughed. “When I was 16, I got to start dating,” she said. “It was exciting.” Ms. Pat also married her first husband at that age. “I had my kids by him,” Ms. Pat spoke warmly of her first husband. However, alcohol drove them to divorce after 10 years of marriage.
We took him to the doctor on a Wednesday, and they said, ‘you got cancer in your lungs.
Ms. Pat
She found a second husband, only for another woman to end her 11-year marriage. Yet, she and her second husband found their way back to each other. The couple did not have their renewed love long before tragedy struck again. “We were remarried for four years until he got cancer and died.”
“See, we didn’t even know he had cancer,” her voice broke as she spoke. “We took him to the doctor on a Wednesday, and they said, ‘you got cancer in your lungs.’ They put him in a hospital on Friday and put him in hospice on Monday.”
Pat’s husband and father of her children passed away just days later.
“I’ve lived here all my life,” she said of Kentucky. “I worked two jobs to take care of my kids. I made more in tips than I did in wages,” she scoffed.
Ms. Pat was a mother of three boys and one girl. Two of her boys died in a fire. “It happened in ‘68,” her eyes welled up as she spoke. “Our house caught on fire and they got burnt up.”
“I get to have both of my kids,” Ms. Pat said of her boy and girl who still live with her. “My son has seizures and he is disabled,” she said. “He has good days and bad days. I’ve got my children and my kids is my life.”
Ms. Pat’s family has also grown over the years. From her four children came two grandchildren, and from them four great-grandchildren.
When she comes home, she cleans the house, does laundry, and cooks dinner. “I’m too lazy to do anything else,” she smiled.
Two months ago, her sole brother passed away. “It was suddenly. My sister called me about six o’ clock that morning and said, ‘Get up and get to the hospital. It’s Rodney James.’ By the time I got there, he was gone. It hurts when you are expecting someone to pass,” she shook her head.
Still, Ms. Pat rolled her eyes at the thought of retirement. “I’m working to work as long as I am able.”
Despite all she has been through, working at Sodexo “keeps [her] going.” Ms. Pat spoke of how positively Sodexo has treated her. In her 30 years at work, bad health has been the only downside effect she has had. “I had a heart attack and had a pacemaker put in.” Although it has been fine over the years, a year ago she had a bad case of AFIB, an irregular heartbeat.
“I seriously thought I was going to die,” she said. “Every now and then, it will act up again, so I will just stay home from work.” Despite conflict with heart issues, Ms. Pat said she feels secure at her work. “Between David [McHargue] and Courtney [Roddy], I knew that if I ever needed anything that I would be covered.”
Tears streamed down her face as she thought about her job, her children, and her life, “people just don’t know what you go through till you talk to somebody, do they?”
“I’m just Pat,” she said with a smile.
Ms. Pat lived with her grandparents for most of her life. “I thought they was my momma and dad,” she said. “We got one check a month and my neighbors would give me clothes to wear.”
One day, Ms. Pat’s grandmother sat her down and said, “It’s about time I told you something.” She began to tell Pat the story of her real parents. Her father was killed before she was born and her mother died from tuberculosis when she was just 18 weeks old. Her grandmother died two weeks after this conversation.
With her grandmother gone and a grandfather beginning to “lose his mind,” Ms. Pat moved in with foster parents.
In her youth, Ms. Pat was a rapid dancer. “I would go out and dance!” she laughed. “When I was 16, I got to start dating,” she said. “It was exciting.” Ms. Pat also married her first husband at that age. “I had my kids by him,” Ms. Pat spoke warmly of her first husband. However, alcohol drove them to divorce after 10 years of marriage.
We took him to the doctor on a Wednesday, and they said, ‘you got cancer in your lungs.
Ms. Pat
She found a second husband, only for another woman to end her 11-year marriage. Yet, she and her second husband found their way back to each other. The couple did not have their renewed love long before tragedy struck again. “We were remarried for four years until he got cancer and died.”
“See, we didn’t even know he had cancer,” her voice broke as she spoke. “We took him to the doctor on a Wednesday, and they said, ‘you got cancer in your lungs.’ They put him in a hospital on Friday and put him in hospice on Monday.”
Pat’s husband and father of her children passed away just days later.
“I’ve lived here all my life,” she said of Kentucky. “I worked two jobs to take care of my kids. I made more in tips than I did in wages,” she scoffed.
Ms. Pat was a mother of three boys and one girl. Two of her boys died in a fire. “It happened in ‘68,” her eyes welled up as she spoke. “Our house caught on fire and they got burnt up.”
“I get to have both of my kids,” Ms. Pat said of her boy and girl who still live with her. “My son has seizures and he is disabled,” she said. “He has good days and bad days. I’ve got my children and my kids is my life.”
Ms. Pat’s family has also grown over the years. From her four children came two grandchildren, and from them four great-grandchildren.
When she comes home, she cleans the house, does laundry, and cooks dinner. “I’m too lazy to do anything else,” she smiled.
Two months ago, her sole brother passed away. “It was suddenly. My sister called me about six o’ clock that morning and said, ‘Get up and get to the hospital. It’s Rodney James.’ By the time I got there, he was gone. It hurts when you are expecting someone to pass,” she shook her head.
Still, Ms. Pat rolled her eyes at the thought of retirement. “I’m working to work as long as I am able.”
Despite all she has been through, working at Sodexo “keeps [her] going.” Ms. Pat spoke of how positively Sodexo has treated her. In her 30 years at work, bad health has been the only downside effect she has had. “I had a heart attack and had a pacemaker put in.” Although it has been fine over the years, a year ago she had a bad case of AFIB, an irregular heartbeat.
“I seriously thought I was going to die,” she said. “Every now and then, it will act up again, so I will just stay home from work.” Despite conflict with heart issues, Ms. Pat said she feels secure at her work. “Between David [McHargue] and Courtney [Roddy], I knew that if I ever needed anything that I would be covered.”
Tears streamed down her face as she thought about her job, her children, and her life, “people just don’t know what you go through till you talk to somebody, do they?”