Submitted by Carolyn McDermott

Eunice Weber should be recognized as “Mother of the Year” because she is a remarkable woman. She grew up picking cotton on her family’s farm and, at age 18, joined the Navy in hopes of escaping such a life. She met her husband while stationed in Florida, and they have been married for 42 years! When her husband lost his job due to the closing of Eastern Airlines, she straightened her shoulders and got a job as a cashier at a local grocery store. Never too proud, she worked the night shift so that her family could have health insurance. She is a hard-working woman who fiercely protects her family, never allowing obstacles to get in her way.

When I was a child, my mom was always the room mother, the clinic volunteer, the team Mom and chauffeur. My house was “the house” where everybody hung out on weekends. She knew all my friends and was intricately involved in my activities as I grew up. Though I didn’t realize it, my Mom’s unconditional support helped me make appropriate choices throughout my teen and young adult years.

However, it was not until 2001, when I became a Mom myself, that I realized what an amazing mother I have. Throughout my pregnancy she rarely came to visit without an armful of baby clothes or supplies. She was ecstatic that I (pushing 30 years old) was finally going to have a baby. My Mom was thrilled at the birth of her first grandson, and she and Gannon are exceptionally close. Now, almost five years old, he relishes spending the night at “Nanny’s” house, and she is the first person he calls on Christmas morning.
My husband and I ran into complications when trying to have a second child. During my three-year struggle with infertility, my mother was a pillar of support for me. Her encouragement and prayers helped me through this emotional time in my life, and she gently reminded us that adoption was another route to parenthood. I am thrilled to say we followed her advice, and one of my happiest shared moments with my mother was on February 22, 2005. On this day I received “the call” from our adoption agency announcing, “It’s a boy!” As the emailed photo of a beautiful 2 1/2 month-old baby boy appeared on my computer screen, she and I jumped up and down, hugging and crying with happiness. I can honestly say that she was as happy and excited as I was!

I work part-time as a school counselor at J.C. Booth Middle School. On the days I work, my mother comes to my house to take care of my boys. Each day when I return home, I am bombarded with excited details of afternoons at the park, lunch at McDonalds and time spent baking cookies. She loves her grandsons so very much and becomes very extremely animated when talking about Gannon or Max’s latest adventure!

I am so unbelievably grateful to my mother for all she does for my children and myself. I am constantly overwhelmed by the unconditional love and support she gives me. One will have to look long and hard to find a more devoted mother and grandmother than Eunice Weber. For all she does and is, I believe she is the true “Mother of the Year.”

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