Mother’s Day is celebrated May 11 this year.

Some mothers deserve more than a day’s recognition.

Ginger Cahoon knows that her mother Margaret has been there for Ginger and her siblings in the good times and the bad.

“She was there when I learned to ride a bike and she was there when I gave birth to my first child.  She loaned me $5 to get gas in the ’70s when gas lines were long, gas was limited, and I was in my first years of marriage and money was tight,’’ said Ginger.

She came to help Ginger almost every day for 18 months when Ginger had twins at 40 years of age and they were not healthy.

“If one of my siblings or I get sick she is ready to prepare meals or tend to us in whatever way is necessary,” said Ginger.

 Ginger has her older sister, Jackie, her brothers    and James, and Glynn, and her youngest sister Anita as siblings.

“My mother is special to me because she has always been my role model.  I always wanted to be as loving, as kind, as dedicated, as hardworking, and live my life in the same Christian manner as she.  I gave up on being able to cook like her years ago,” said Ginger.

Margaret was born and raised in the Sound Side community, in Tyrrell County.  During her early marriage years she lived in Elizabeth City, NC and Portsmouth, Va. for a few years.

Ginger has have lived in Tyrrell County her entire life.

Anita wrote a article about her mother in the online magazine the Scuppernong Gazette in November 2010 that gives more details about Margaret.
“ Like many others in Tyrrell County, she grew up on a farm and has never been afraid of hard work. A go-getter from the start she worked on  her father’s  farm, picked   pine   cones for  WestVaco  waited  tables  for over  20 years  and  to  this day  remains  strong  and  active. At 84, almost 85, she  continues to do her own yard work, clean house, wash  and  wax   her  cat; and cook  enough  food  for  an  army,” said Anita in the article.

Margaret said that death of loved ones when she was a young woman has helped to shape who she is as a person.

“When I was almost 25 I lost my first husband to a kidney disease.  He was 26 and we had two small children.  I later married his brother and we had three more children,” said Margaret

Margaret’s mother was a Christian. She was loving, kind and forgiving.

“She died of complications from a car wreck when I was 31. I could not have survived the hurt and pain of losing these people without the love of God that my mother had instilled in my heart. She taught me to put God first and to remember the “Golden Rule.” Once I realized I could depend on Him and put my trust in Him everything else fell into place.

Many hurts have befallen Margaret in 88 years of living but the most painful was losing a child.

“I lost a son in the Vietnam War in June  1969.  He was fighting for a cause in which he believed but that fact could not take away my pain and hurt; only God could do that.  I knew that I had to go on living because I still had a husband, a married daughter, and three children living at home that needed me.  My consolation is knowing that one day we will all be together in heaven,” said Margaret.

Margaret prays that her children will live for God, put him first and trust in him in their daily lives.

“I hope that they will live by the Golden Rule which talks about doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. I hope they always support their families and stand by their decisions.  And that they remember the motto I used when they were children, “All for one and one for all.”   I also hope they try to continue family gatherings and reunions so the family can remain strong in each other,” said Margaret.