My Mother-in-Law the Butcher of Milwaukee
Today is JMM’s birthday, the woman who birthed the love of my life and nurtured him into the man he has become. She is also known as my Mother-in-Law, the Butcher of Milwaukee.
And, she is going to kill me for telling this MTM-inspired story.
When MTM’s parents divorced, split-up marriages were not typical. With children involved, lots more people suffered together, whether or not that was the best thing for the tykes. MTM’s Mom had five kids, and she was left to manage them on her own.
She pared down, signed up for what assistance she could, and moved the family into what is still a scary section of Milwaukee. A rickety rental house in the center of crime was all she could afford. The 1960′s manual for housewifery did not train her for supporting five children, leaving her with no choice but to go back to school. Between slaving at her jobs, attending classes and studying, she didn’t always have time to be a traditional Mom.
But, she tried.
Studying had to happen late at night, after the kids were all pretending to be asleep. She piled her books and herself on a dilapidated sofa and usually fell asleep teaching herself to teach others. For as long as she could hold her eyes open, she kept one eye on her coursework, and the other on the door, alert for various neighborhood crazies who might decide to break down through the flimsy wood to rob the nothing they had.
Had she known MY Mom back then, she could likely have loaned Joyce a gun to defend herself and her kids in case of assault or attack. Lacking a sophisticated weapon, she chose a meat tenderizer for company. You know that kitchen gadget, with its sleek handle sprouting into a square head of stainless steel punctuated with points around its faces. Perhaps she thought she could put a diamond-shaped hurting on anyone stupid enough to attack her family, or maybe she thought the sight of that meat tenderizer would melt a hard heart. Either way, she slept with that implement of butchery long enough to burn it into MTM’s burgeoning brain. He remembers seeing her sacked out on the sofa, surrounded by books and clutching her meat tenderizer. He thinks it was her bed buddy for years.
Thank you, Joyce, for being such a brilliant, vital example of womanhood to me. Happy Birthday.
Too Much is Just Enough: Strength in Adversity
Happy Birthday, Joyce, and major kudos to you for being such a wonderful Mother to the lovely MTM. The meat tenderizer story is funny today, but, I’m sure it was not so much fun then feeling that you had to protect your kids with it.
Hope you have a wonderful Birthday!!
MTM wonders whether she still sleeps with a meat tenderizer today.
If I were MTM, I would be more worried about your fascination with blunt metal objects in bed with you. My goodness, you might start taking hammers to bed with you soon. :0
I think sleeping with guns under the pillow is more ingrained into my genetic code…………..and, no, I do not own a gun.
Joyce, the meat tenderizer did it. I think I love you. Happy birthday!
You gotta love a woman who gets creative with her implements of death and destruction.
When you think about it, a meat tenderizer kind of resembles a medieval mace, so I think Joyce chose her weapon wisely! Cheers to her, for her resourcefulness, ambition and determination – all qualities that she no doubt passed on to MTM and his sibs — and the happiest of birthday wishes! And cheers to you, Andra, for another lovely vignette.
You’re right! I never thought about it that way, but I just pictured Joyce with face painted blue screaming “freedom!” and wielding a mace………………she probably would’ve been that scary to an intruder, too.
Fantastic! I just hope she never had to use it. And we shall also assume that she never used it against MTM or his siblings? (Maybe that is who it was really for!)
Speaking of odd weapons, don’t know if he slept with it but my father used to keep a machette near by during graduate school. No, I have no idea why. But he did wield it over his head one night when someone tried to crawl in his second floor window. It was either the machette, the battle cry, or just the site of my father that made the guy lean backward and fall off the ladder. Dad never saw him again.
Here is too our well armed parents!
You will have to compare weapons of targeted destruction notes with MTM when you see him today……..what happened to the machette? You could use that thing………..
Happy Birthday Joyce! You are woman, we heard your roar! And you have my deepest respect for doing what needed to be done! And obviously raising super children to make our world a better place!
Now, I just hope she has access to a computer today…………she will appreciate these wishes. And then, she will kill me for writing about her on my blog.
And this too. I loved this movie. http://youtu.be/e1wpbCbPP7U
That actually brought a tear……….
Love this, and I think your Mother-in-law’s choice of weaponry all those years ago was quite logical — something she certainly would have known how to use! No doubt in my mind either that she would have been fierce in the defense of her “cubs” — ask your own Mom! Hope she has a wonderful birthday. Have a great day, yourself!
Karen, she has this picture framed in her house. MTM and his brother David took it on a trip together, and they thought it was a lovely picture of their own family. I hope you have a lively day yourself.
Thanks, i will. Getting ready for a big family reunion tomorrow – my firstborn “cub” will be here sometime later today.
Aw. Have a blast, Karen!!
Happy Birthday to Joyce! I can not imagine having to raise five children by myself with no help. I can only imagine some of the things that ran through her mind as she was faced with this challenge. The fact that she did not put the children up for adoption speaks volumes about her character and tenacity. Working and going to school AND raising five children is enough to scare most people. WOW is all I can say at this point. My hat goes off to her.
MTM is lucky. He learned a lot about living from her.
Forget the Tiger Mom…Happy Birthday to my Cheetah Mom!
Haha! Good one, Dear.
What a wonderful tribute to an amazing woman and mother. Good on you Joyce, Happy Birthday to you and also good on you to your daughter-in-law who saw the strong woman and mother you were.
Thanks, Marie. We are in SlEasley. Won’t be long now!!