Racing Family Memoir

Ever get the feeling that parents steal your spotlight?

I only felt that way every single year.

Me and my mother were best friends growing up. We used to always spend amazing time together.

Although there were a few complaints celebrating mom’s race day with my birthday.

How could such a day be shared with a mother?

Well, My mom hurt deeply twice for 2 children who are now becoming adults.

Mom unknowingly did celebrate a holiday. As she raced my fathers 10/4 police code code. 104.

When I heard my name being cast out by the loud loud speakers at the races, celebrating my birthday, I couldnt help but feel a few things at once.

First things first, this is about my mom racing. Second of all, this IS my birthday and I’m so happy that its celebrated here. 3rd thing was how simple it was that all they did was call my name. I guess I wanted more than the fireworks at the end of the show and my name painted on the car all pretty and white ; with hot hot pink underneath.

Did I know anything about this day that I know now? I was clueless.

When I was younger, I didn’t understand why mom didn’t keep all of her trophies. A few trophies were given away to women who had breast cancer and I didn’t fully understand the meaning of that.

My mother’s ex friend, who was a race car driver on the same team, High Risk, is a fighter and survivor of breast cancer.

It really hurt me and all I could do was empathize.

High Risk really stood for something for me and my family.

I didn’t realize how it tugged at my whole family’s heart that my grandma went through and survived stage 3 breast cancer.

Her breast was cut shorter. She is a red head and was going to be a model when she was younger. She has always been very good with currency, says my mom, who told me the most beautiful story about mom’s efforts of rent being put away for when she was older enough to move out.

My grandparents are divorced. There was a family accident the same time John Wayne Gacey was in prison and caught for all his murders.

Grandpa was scared.

Nobody really knows what happened that day.

My mother fortunately is not the same person as my grandfather and in no way shape or form did he ever try to destroy a family he worked hard for.

From the stories, it sounded pretty rough.

My grandpa was a racecar driver. He was in the newspaper in the 70s. I remember being so happy to hesr that a grandfather won. Family pictures confirmed. A first place winner at a few points.

A huge family surrounded him. My grandmother had at least 7 siblings. My grandma’s side loved to be accepted at the track.

My uncle carried through and forward came a legacy, as a racecar driver. Full Throttle, painted in purple. My mom’s cousins built the cars.

They all raced for years. Separate teams, but that was the way my family found their light, their passion, their drive.

All of this happened at Santa Fe Speedway and the Dirt Oval, Route 66 in Illinois.

What a beautifully destroyed family.

Everyone grows up, everyone moves on.

Everyone got old,

And now im an adult,

I’ll tell their story.

Published by kacynskitessa

Mabon and 104 I am the Mabon girl.
I was born on September 22, at the turning of summer into autumn. And every year on my birthday, my mother raced. Her racecar was pink. Her number was 104. She raced not only for the thrill of the track, but for breast cancer awareness—turning a racecar into a moving symbol of remembrance, strength, and hope. So while I was celebrating another year of my life, my mother was carrying a message around the racetrack. Pink against mud. 104 the car was painted. An engine roaring beneath the September sky. To me, those races, wearing hot pink; became part of what my birthday meant. Other people might remember birthdays through candles or balloons. I remember mine through the sound of racing. Through my mother. Through that pink car. Through 104. And through the strange beauty of being born at the beginning of autumn—the season of harvest, balance, transformation, and letting go. Mabon reminds us that life is made of cycles. The track taught me something similar. You don't stay in one place. You move through turns. You cross lines. You begin again. My mother raced for awareness, carrying something bigger than herself around the track. And I grew up carrying her story with me. Maybe that's why the image feels so powerful: A mother racing beneath her daughter's September birthday sky. A pink car representing awareness. The number 104 marking its place on the track. And a daughter watching, growing, changing, becoming. Every year, the girl became older. Every year, autumn returned. Every year, the wheels turned. And the story continued. I am the Mabon girl. My birthday is September 22. My mother raced. Her car was pink. Her number was 104. And somewhere between the harvest and the racetrack, I learned that life isn't about staying still. It's about knowing when to hold on— and knowing when to turn the wheel.

Leave a Reply