The Elliott's

I have the best Mom in the world. She is the most unselfish person I know. She always has been. The latest amazing thing she has done is to help a family in a very big way that she did not even know before. Some people would be so giving to their immediate family, and maybe to their extended family, but not many would give so freely of their time and resources to complete strangers.

This all started because she volunteers with an organization in OKC called 'Rebuilding Together.' Each Spring they help an elderly person or couple make their home more weather-tight and improve their living conditions. Last Fall, the Elliotts called 'Rebuilding Together' to check into their program and see if they qualified. They did qualify in every way except for one...they lived outside of the OKC area. The Elliotts live near the Cement/Sterling area. However, the folks at 'Rebuilding Together' gave this family's information to my Mom hoping she might spend a little time on their mobile home and help them with their immediate problems. Of course, Mom said yes she would go see them.

When she arrived to meet them and see their home it was much worse than she expected. Their light fixtures were full of rain. You could see daylight in the bottom plate of their trailer house. Their water heater was not connected to anything. Mrs. Elliott carried water from the heater to do dishes or bathe. Their septic lines had collapsed. To compound all of this, Mr. Elliott had just been diagnosed with cancer and they were (and still are) making frequent trips to OKC for treatments.

Had it been me, I would have done all I could to improve their trailer and been done with it. But that isn't how my Mom operates. She knew that in the long run their trailer was not set up for their needs. Most likely they will need wheelchair accessability and the roof and bottom plate needed major work. So, she decided to raise the funds to get them a different trailer that would meet their needs. She found an old trailer and it was basically gutted and it is being rebuilt from top to bottom. She mobilized all kinds of people who have come from Fort Sill to assist with the project. She has rounded up building materials from all kinds of people. She has given up almost every Saturday for the last 8 or 9 months, most Sunday afternoons and many weeknights to work on this. She has also spent quite a bit of her own money to keep this project going. She is like her own version of 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'!

A news channel based in Lawton did a story on the project and interviewed Mom and the Elliotts. This might be the only pat on the back she receives. Which seems wrong. Except for one thing. She doesn't expect (or seem to want) any pats on the back. That is what makes her so amazing! I am thankful for her and the example she is to me, my children and to everyone who is blessed enough to be around her.

So, a few months ago, I finally got Mom on facebook. If I can explain to her what a blog is and get her over here, then she can have this pat on the back, too. Love you, Mom! You're the best!