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Showing posts from July, 2015

“Pools of Sorrow, Waves of Joy” and memories of Mom

Last week, my son and I went to the barber. While I was waiting for my son, I noticed the barber had an old Beauty School text book. It was the same book my mom used when she went to Beauty School when she was studying for her cosmetology license. It was a 9 month program. That 9 month program changed our life. During that period (late 1969 thru 1970), my parents got divorced, my dad moved to Boise, and mom remarried. To say that the 9 month period was tumultuous is an understatement. I was 8 years old.       Years later, when I was in college, I took a course called “Women in History.” My professor asked the students to do an “oral history” about some woman. I chose my mother, Faye Marlene Bailey Dunham Brown. Her real first name was “Joy,” and I entitled my oral history about Mom “ Pools of Sorrow, Waves of Joy.” My mom's life was “ Pools of Sorrow, Waves of Joy.” It seemed fitting that her real name was “Joy.” The title refers to a  Beatles'  song “Across