Cindy Rother

Everyone faces challenges in life, even my mom, Cindy Rother, the bravest most kindhearted person I know. She was born at Regina Medical Center in Hastings, Minnesota, and has lived in Hastings ever since. Growing up in a small town is what made her the person she is today.

Cindy Marie McNamara was the name she was given on that very special fall day. She was the third child in her family, and a few years later she became a big sister. Living in a family of six was hard, but they made it through. She has two very loving parents, Clay and Elly McNamara.

Cindy faced a huge challenge at just 18 months old that could have changed her life forever. She was diagnosed with a rare disease, called encephalitis, that shuts down your nervous system and has been known to kill. The news came as a shock to her family. Even more bad news came as the doctors told her parents that if she lived, she would never be able to walk again!

One day, Cindy and her dad were sitting together. Cindy was recovering but still wasn’t able to walk. When her dad called her over to the couch, all of a sudden, she pulled herself up and took her first steps since she had been diagnosed with the disease. She had to learn how to walk all over again. Dealing with this disease hasn’t stopped her from being a great person and an even better mom.

My mom grew up like any many other Catholic children in Hastings. She went to Guardian Angels Elementary School for kindergarten though 8th grade and then Hastings High School for grades 9-12. While in high school, she adopted the nickname “Mac” and is still called it today by some old friends. It’s really weird when you’re in the supermarket and I hear someone call “Hey Mac!” Then I know she is going to stop and talk to someone for awhile.

Throughout my mom’s school years, she always had a passion for sports. She played basketball, volleyball and softball. She won awards in these sports and was a really good player. My mom always encourages me to do my best in sports and to be a team player. I have gone far in the sports I play because of the support of my parents. I know they will always be there for me.

Also, throughout my mom’s life, she had many jobs. Having a paper route was her first job. She also detasseled corn in the summer. A corn detasseler is someone who takes the tassels off the “female rows” so they can be pollinated by the “male rows.” She said it was the worst job! It was really hard work and the hot summer it made it even more miserable. Later, she went on to work at Hardees, a fast food restaurant, then to County Point, a bar and restaurant.

“The Point” is where she first met her future husband, Gordy Rother. They were just friends at the time. Later, they both went to Inver Hills Community College where they began dating. She wanted to go into social work and he wanted to be an air traffic controller. She later quit college because she got a full time job at 3M. After eight years of dating, they finally got married on June 16, 1990. They had a beautiful ceremony at the small Guardian Angels Church then went on a honeymoon in the Cayman Islands. Thus, began a new chapter in their lives.

They bought a restaurant called “The Stein Haus” and after a few years decided it was time to have their first child. My mom gave birth to a beautiful baby girl whom they named Cassandra Mae Rother. Both of them loved being parents and enjoyed every moment of being a family of three. Two years later, my mom gave birth to yet another baby girl named Maria Marissa Rother.

Eventually, my mom was hired as a mail carrier. To this day, she still loves her job. This is because it involves some of her favorite things, like being outdoors and getting to know people. Some of these people she has met along the way have changed her life.

One person who affected her life was a man named Jerry. He was widowed and had no family in Minnesota. We took him in and he became another grandpa to us. He was as sweet as can be and always came with us to our family gatherings so he didn’t have to spend the holidays alone. We all loved him so much. One day, he found out he had prostate cancer and after a few years of fighting, he passed away.

People like Jerry come into your life for a reason, and he definitely made us a lot more grateful for all we have. He changed my mom’s life by helping to make her stronger through dealing with a loss of “family.” This was a huge barrier that we all had no choice but to get over it.

Since then, my mom lives by the motto, “live each day to the fullest.” She never leaves the house without a smile on her face. She doesn’t take what she has for granted and makes everyone around her feel happy. My mom will always be my role model. But she doesn’t just inspire me, she changes the lives of everyone around her.

She has people who have inspired her as well. One of them was a former teacher, Mrs. Gabriel. My mom liked her because she let everyone in her class start with a “clean slate,” she didn’t let what others said about a student affect how she felt about them like some teachers do, and she always told her class that no one was dumb. My mom also was inspired by her dad because he always saw life in a positive way. “He was ‘a glass half full’ kind of guy,” she said.

I admire my mom and I wrote about her because she has had such a great life! She is someone you can talk to, and she doesn’t judge people. I love her a lot; I really couldn’t ask for a better mom. She goes above and beyond what a normal mom would do. Cindy Rother is my idol and I hope to be just like her when I grow up!