Reflections of Momma
PINPOINTE RESIDENT PROFILE
By Metta Marie Archilla
P
hyllis Evelyn Mooney-Zigenbein. Mom. Words cannot express the gratefulness and appreciation I feel for you! Neither can I define the thanks I give you for everything you have done for me. You have always been there for me, through right and wrong, and have shown me the way. You have always pushed me to be the best that I could be and man, oh man, I know I was a hyper handful! You were my greatest influence, an influence that will stay with me always. Mom is my guiding light. She is the beacon in the lighthouse, calling me home always. Momma taught me that kindness was necessary and helping others was just what we do, daily. She raised me to be strong and independent. But no matter what, I will always be her little girl. I will always need my mom. I thank her for the lessons she taught me and those she teaches me still at a frail 94. Momma taught me to smile in the face of hardship and to believe in myself, no matter what anyone says. I thank her for always making me feel unconditionally loved and appreciated and for instilling in me a sense of worth that I am good enough in the eyes of the Lord, that I do matter. As Momma struggles with this final grace in her life as late-stage Dementia takes hold, she still manages to laugh and smile through my stupid jokes and crazy little stories. What a remarkable woman to fight her last and still make me feel beautiful through gentle reminders that the world
8 May | June 2022
Photo Credit: Patricia Hudson
isn’t ending even, when I think it is. But mostly, I thank her for being the most wonderful mother imaginable, I can’t ever be the Mom I felt she was to that scared inner child I was growing up, but I sure do hope to one day become half the woman she continues to be: strong, beautiful, and intelligent. Thank you, Momma for loving Ashlynn, your “Grandcub,” and for co-parenting this young lady who is learning to make her own way in this big bad world. You have taught her as you did me, to buckle up and dig in, because life ain’t fair much
