Wonderful Women Wednesday!

Happy Hump Day and welcome to our new weekly series, Wonderful Women Wednesday! Every week I'll be spotlighting a woman or two who is truly wonderful. If you know of (or are one yourself!) a wonderful woman that deserves a moment in the spotlight, send an email t0 bella@shopbellaornamenti.com

For the first post in this series I'm spotlighting a woman who is not only wonderful, but also very personal to me, a truly amazing woman and my hero, Judy Torrey. She also happens to be my Mom!

My beautiful Mom (with me as an adorable baby!)

My beautiful Mom (and amazing Dad!) now. She's still hot stuff!

It seems cliche to say "My mom is my hero", but once you've finished reading this, you'll agree.  Married in 1969 and had four children by 1979, my Mom always had her hands full. She did manage to instill a love of reading and knowledge in my siblings and myself.  I still love her lasagna (and wish I were closer in distance to enjoy it more often!)

My mom put a lot of things on hold to get married and raise children.  When we were a little older she went back to work but always managed to attend school functions, take care of us kids and our dad, take care of the house and cook dinner every night. At the time I didn't appreciate how hard her job as mom and wife was, but as soon as I was a wife and mom I knew what she had sacrificed for all those years.

Smart and talented is an understatement for my mom. She went back to college part-time once most of us kids were grown. Taking just one class a semester while working full time for the City of Worcester, she slowly "ate away" at the courses needed for her Associates. Always supportive of me and my many, stupid choices in life, she and dad helped move my and my family out to Missouri in 2003. A couple years later (after promising when my daughter was little) my oldest moved out to live with my parents and attend the same private high school that my sisters and I attended. 

During that time the hardest thing happened, my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She chose surgery, chemo and radiation to give her the best chance at survival.  I'm happy to say, she is cancer free!  She helped raise my daughter, work and go to school all while battling this horrible disease. To say she came out the other side stronger than ever is an understatement. Whether it's her Italian side or her Irish side, her genetic stubbornness and "fight" along with her faith and family helped her through.

A couple years ago, she and my dad retired. Last year she earned her Master's in Business Administration! She didn't complete college for a job but for personal enrichment.  Her and my dad now spend winters in Florida and summers back home in Massachusetts. She fills her time taking care of my grandfather, working out, knitting and enjoying her grand kids. I think she's busier now than when she worked full time.

I can only hope to be half as intelligent, strong, beautiful and loving as my mom.  Wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, cancer survivor, college grad, retiree, golfer, runner, knitter and more. My hero, my mom, Judy!

Until Next Time...

Andrea