A Final Request Before Saying Goodbye | #RELIGIOUS | RomePi™

♡4♡ If Only They Knew (BWWM)

(Back Then)
"RUTHANNE NEELEY"

If only they had been blessed with a gift to read her mind, then and only then would people comprehend the current situation.

Before Ruthanne Neeley-Yates became their vision of the living embodiment of a self-sacrificing wife, she was a daughter, a cousin, a niece, and a friend.

As the only child of pub owners, Ruthanne grew up with a father and mother who insisted she must do incredibly well with any task that came up in her life.

You see, the family's honor was placed squarely on her shoulders and she had no desire to sully her family's name.

There happened to be a large brood of Neeley's in the ArkLaHomaTex and they prided themselves on their Irish Catholic heritage.

Not only was their heritage important, but the Catholic faith was the bedrock upon which the family planted its roots. To say they were a traditional lot would be putting it mildly. Missing mass was absolutely unheard of amongst the Neeleys. They supported the church and were openly grateful for the many blessings bestowed upon their lives.

Ruthanne's parents were devout Catholics, but she was a little more attuned to the ideas and mannerisms of the youngsters in her family. She played the part of the good little Catholic girl who said her rosaries and obeyed her parents, but as soon as she left home for college, it was much easier for her to have fun without the constant reminders of purgatory.

She, like many young Christians, welcomed the freedom to be who or whatever they wanted to be. It wasn't that she no longer wished to attend mass. Ruthanne simply wanted to live her life on her terms. Not sure what those terms were yet, she tried to fall in line whenever it was important.

When it was time to join the ranks of other professional folks in her clan, Ruthanne studied to prepare herself to follow suit.         

Sections of the family boasted policemen going back four or five generations. Other parts of the clan hailed several great-uncles and a few second cousins who were firemen. With doctors, nurses, paramedics, teachers, and multiple other titles to round out the family's professional pool, her duty to join the long list of the accomplished was sacrosanct.

Ruthanne was fully aware that her failures would never belong exclusively to her. Any mistakes she made would negatively impact her parents as well, so she selected a respectable degree path to become a high school teacher or a college professor.

She never once considered a life serving the church before she met the man who would become her husband.

Her mother's sister was the only immediate family member who decided to become a nun and serve the church. Since her aunt was the only person to make such a dedication, Ruthanne lived her life like many of her family members. She went through the family obligation motions as required, but she continued to live a secular life.

Gathering for mandatory family events continued until she began her fifth year of university. Only when she gained more freedom did she veer away in another direction.

♡♡♡

(Back Then)
"THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER"

"Mom. Will you please stop nagging me?"

Ruthanne had reached her limits. She did everything her parents requested of her but that did nothing to soothe her mother's troubled mind.

She had finally entered the home stretch with only two years of college left to go. With a grueling schedule and tons of classes, she even managed to drive home every single weekend to attend mass and spend time with the family. No matter how thin she was spreading herself, nothing was ever enough for her mom.