NASCAR: Mother's Day Necklace More Precious than the Hope Diamond
6 May 1999
HARRISBURG, N.C.-- Most moms expect flowers and a card for Mother's Day, but it's those rare occasions when they are surprised with a unique and thoughtful gift that stands out most in their minds.Lisa LaJoie, wife of Randy LaJoie, two-time NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division champion and the driver of the No. 1 Bob Evans Restaurants Chevrolet Monte Carlo has one special memory that she treasures, which is quite evident by the smile on her face when she travels down Mother's Day memory lane.
"One Mother's Day, I got the most beautiful necklace I had ever seen," LaJoie remembered. "It turns out that Randy thought of it all on his own and had it designed for me.
"The necklace is just so special to me. It comes down to a point in the front with four jewels and a few diamonds surrounding them. The four different jewels represent our birthstones. This necklace means more to me than any other piece of jewelry I own."
Lisa would not have the necklace if it was not for a chance meeting at a high school basketball game that proved to be the turning point in her life.
It was her junior year in high school, in Norwalk, Conn., and like other students, extracurricular activities provided a chance to socialize with other classmates. It was at one of these basketball games that Lisa would meet her future husband, Randy, and father of their two children, Casey and Cory.
Soon after they met they began dating. However, a few months later, Lisa's father moved the family to Florida after taking a job transfer. For the next five years they remained divided by more than eight states, still speaking and seeing each other periodically.
Eventually, Lisa moved back to their hometown and the two began dating again. They were married in 1988.
"Right after we got married, Randy got a job offer in North Carolina," said LaJoie. "He moved less than six months after we were married. I was working full-time and he wasn't exactly sure if the job was going to be permanent, so he went down first and I came about six months later. "It was really hard at first. I only knew a few people and they were friends of Randy's I had met through racing. So, when I got down here I worked full-time to keep myself busy. But, the job was Monday through Friday and Randy would be gone on the weekends, so I found myself home alone."
A few years after moving to North Carolina, LaJoie added another role to her identity -- she was going to be a mother.
"Timing is everything for us," said LaJoie. "I had been in the travel industry for a while and was getting burned out. At the same time, things were turning around in Randy's racing career. So, when I started having children, I realized how much I really wanted to be at home to raise them. I was lucky that I didn't have to work. Everything just fell into place." "Right now, the children are young (Cory, 7 and Casey, 4) and aren't involved in extra curricular activities like soccer or baseball. We all enjoy traveling as a family to the races. I know that there will come a time when they want to become more involved with their friends at school, but for now, while they're young, we like to spend as much time together as possible.
"We recently got a motor home to take to the races as our 'home-away-from-home.' We only take it to the races within driving distance because Randy drives it. Anything over five or six hours is just too much for him, and it's not really easy on the kids either.
"Sometimes, we aren't together on certain holidays or birthdays because of our travel schedules. Family time is important to us, so being able to spend this Sunday with my children and my husband will be special."