“When my grandmother and I talked about when I grew up and married, I said, ‘ We’re gonna be just like all the books say, I’m gonna get married, I’m gonna have four kids– and I’m gonna live happily ever after.”
Screen Shot, Fan Favorite Moment
Miss Kay’s grandmother understood that, that’s what she believed now. But, she warned, there will be a time when you will have to fight for your marriage.
When Miss Kay was was just 14 years old, and went by the name Marsha Kay Carroway, she lost her father to a massive heart attack. He was only 49 years old when he passed away.
Her mother was only 42 at the time she became a widow. Having a mother that was a widow was hard on the young Miss Kay. As she explains that both she and her mother were dating at the same time. This impacted her greatly.
Phil came to her dad’s funeral. That really impressed her.
From that day on, it seemed as though Phil took her dad’s place as her protector, Miss Kay recalled in an interview with I am Second.
Although she was very close to her grandmother, she didn’t feel like she could talk to her about things like sex. Her grandmother came from a different generation. Where topics like sex was just plain taboo. It was never discussed.
He was a football star, and she was a cheerleader.
When Miss Kay was still a teenager only 17 years-old, she became pregnant with their first son, and gave birth to Marshal Alan Robertson. So, they got married right out of high school and started their family.
Although Phil had been poor all his life, Miss Kay had never been poor. It was completely new to her. Because they had no money, they worked hard at learning to live off of what Phil could provide by hunting.
The learned to live off fish, ducks, deer and squirrel. That’s how Miss Kay learned to cook.
“I feel sorry for Alan. I know he’d a probably liked to have a real mom and dad. But he had who he had.” Miss Kay confessed in an interview with I am Second.
During the next two pregnancies, Miss Kay knew that Phil was running around on her with other women. He was “mean spirited.” But worst of all, he drank a lot. This surprised Miss Kay. All through high school he had never drank. Now, here they are, in college, with a growing family of boys, and Phil is starting to run wild.
At one point, Miss Kay, thought all Phil needed was another boy and he would slow the party down. He would stop drinking. It would all be better.
But that didn’t happen.
One day, Miss Kay came home weary and tired. There her husband was, drunk on the couch. When he asked her why she was so late, she explained. But Phil was in a foul mood. That’s when he started accusing her of having an affair. She laughed and said, “When would I have time for that?”
At that point was her lowest. She wanted to die, and locked herself in the bathroom.
Then she heard the pitter-patter of little house-shoes on the floor. And her oldest little man said, “Mama, Mama please don’t cry. God is going to take care of us.
In the end, her grandmother was right. But so was she. God did take care of them, and gave her a happily ever after.
