Unapologetically

On a cold January morning in 1968 on the 7th of month a baby girl was born in the town of Auburn, ME. Her mother called her father after Naomi was born and to her surprise he said whose this. Her Dad had been sleeping so he was a little foggy. It would be a story she would remember for the rest of her life. Naomi loved the stories her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles would tell over the years. She lived in a perfect world. Her parents Erwin and Gwendolyn Coy married on May 28, 1965 they were God fearing people and parents who took their daughter Naomi to church every Sunday. After she was born they had her baptisted and dedicated themselves to raising her with Christian values. They wanted to raise her on a foundation based of the teachings of God. It would years later that foundation of faith would save her life time and time again. Naomi attended church every Sunday, attended Pioneer girls and even went to church camp. She enjoyed attending church and learning to the word of God. As a teenager she would attend church twice on Sundays. Sunday evening she would sit with an elderly lady in the very back pew. The lady Marion was like a grandmother to young Naomi. She was content to sit quietly beside the lady who showed love for a child who could of been her own granddaughter. As she grew up her life centered around her family which wasn't always blood related.

When Naomi was 12 years old she lost another VIP in her family circle her Aunt Annie. Naomi was told her aunt was going in for a hysterectomy but while in the hospital she died of a brain tumor cancer most likely as her aunt was a smoker. It wouldn't until year later that Naomi would learn that working in the shoe factory could of contributed to the loss of her Aunt Annie who was more of a mother to the young Naomi. That lose she would carry with her for the rest of her life. You back in the 1980's no one talked much about death. So young Naomi grieved the loss alone without the counsel of anyone to console her fears. Fears of losing all the people she loved the most. As time past just that happened one by one they passed and the little girl lived on in a grown woman who never learned to let go of anyone who got close to her.

Two years after she was born her little sister was born this would change her life for years to come. As the middle child her sister Ruth had a way of getting her way especially with Dad. This angered young Naomi.

mi and she resented her ability to manipulate her father. Naomi's world revolve around her Dad. He was her best friend he taught her to love music, to care about people and except them regardless of their differences.

As Naomi grew into adulthood she depended on her Dad for his wisdom. When she moved into her own apartment at 18 she called him frequently for advice.

One more while cleaning off the top of the refrigerator she discovered a lot of bugs of which she'd never seen before so she called her. She didn't know they were coch roaches which are gross. Her Dad told her to get some Raid to kill them because they carried diseases. She did as she was told because she wasn't a fan of bugs in her food.

The years went bye and time turned the once incredible man her Dad old. Naomi had never thought of her Dad as old until he got sick. Three days he lingered in that hospital bed. He struggled to breath but his final few world would linger in his daughters mind. The most profound thing he said was don't be mad at God. At that point in her life she'd been made at God for a long time. She took her father's world and she became maybe a women who loved God in a way she never had before. If not for the gift of music that he gave, the ability to think for herself and overcome painful events in her life. He was wise and she admired his strength an wisdom in his final hours. He had raised her to take pride in being a good person someone who gave love unconditionally as he did. He forgave more then she every thought she could but she would try.

On October 5, 2019 her Dad died of bacterial puemonia. She would go one to honor his final wishes to become the women he knew she would need to be. The women who would mourn the death of her first love, her best friend, her mentor and her whole world. The hardest part of losing her Dad was seeing the lack of people who paid their last respects to a man who always did pay his. He was a survivor and so was she because of the example he set as he was born blind at birth. He attended Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts. He was given the opportunity of a good education because his mother Florence. She made sure her soon got on the train and off to school. He would come home in holidays and during the summer to their farmhouse in Durham, Maine. He had 8 brothers and four sisters all younger then he. Times we touch back in the late 30's early forties growing up poor. He learned at a young age to be grateful for what he had. He loved his time at Perkins and even heard Helen Keller speak once. He said it was difficult to understand what sh was saying as she was both blind and deaf.

If not for the love of his mother Florence he wouldn't have gotten the education he did. So for Naomi she grew up in a world full of love, life lessons and with two of the greatest loves of her life her Dad and her grandmother Florence.