BY JENNY GOLDSBERRY

Motherhood can tend to be a thankless job. This past year, moms have been asked to step up more than ever. Some became schoolteachers for their kids who were sent home by school districts. Others devoted themselves to deep cleaning and sanitization. Some did it all while working from home. Even empty-nester mothers found themselves hosting their children once again.

At North Ogden Connection Magazine, we’re starting an annual tradition to salute the city’s extraordinary mothers during Mother’s Day month. Our hope is that by honoring one mother a year, mothers everywhere, living and deceased, will be revered. Thanks to all those nominations that were sent in, it was very tough to choose among amazing mothers. We’re starting this tradition with Tammy Burnett, who was not only a mother to her children, but her sisters as well.

TO MY MOTHER
By Edgar Allen Poe
Because I feel that, in the Heavens above,
The angels, whispering to one another,
Can find, among their burning terms of love,
None so devotional as that of “Mother,”
Therefore by that dear name I long have called you—
You who are more than mother unto me,
And fill my heart of hearts, where Death installed you
In setting my Virginia’s spirit free.
My mother—my own mother, who died early,
Was but the mother of myself; but you
Are mother to the one I loved so dearly,
And thus are dearer than the mother I knew
By that infinity with which my wife
Was dearer to my soul than its soul-life.

About Tammy:

Tammy Burnett is the eldest of 13 children in her family. When she had her daughter, Chastity, she found that Chastity had a heart condition. After receiving medical help, Chastity was placed on a heart monitor for the first three years of her life. When Chastity was seven years old, Tammy lost both her parents to cancer in the same year. Her tenth sister was only 17 years old at the time. Tammy stepped in and became her sister’s legal guardian. She says her sisters began leaning on her more.

“I’m kind of like the sister mom for the family for the four younger girls,” she says. Even now, they call on her for everything, and she’s happy to be there for them.

This is what Chastity had to say about her: “She is truly the best mom and grandma. I had my son at a young age, and my mom stepped in and helped. 13 years later, I had my daughter, and she [Tammy] goes out of her way to help in any way she can. She takes her to school, picks her up, takes her to all her activities. My mom works a full-time job on top of everything she does.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful mothers!

Dad of the Year Nominations: Father’s Day is around the corner! Nominate your dad for our Dad of the Year issue next month!