Ok, ready or not, here it goes. I have journaled thru out my whole life and have them dating back to when I was about eight. Life changes, many criseses, have led me to introspect. What has made me the person I am today? Do I like the person I am today? That changes daily. I am going to begin at my earliest memories, enlisting the help of family and friends. I have been so blessed with both. My eternal gratitude goes out to these people for helping me thru the "criseses", of which I have so far endured and grown. Hopefully, this gift of writing will be useful for my children as they make their own journies.
My earliest memory of a wee little one was living in our tiny house in Evansville, Indiana. This must have been about age two and a half to three. My father was amazed at how far back the memories go. I lived there with my mother, father, sister and our two pets...Pepper and Tiger. Not going to mention the names of others because, "it's all about me", and everybody should have the opportunity to write their own story. Everyone has their own story. Whew! Hope that didn't sound too harsh. I remember Evansville being hot and humid. Mom use to say it was the "armpit" of the nation. We lived in a tiny 2 bedroom, 1 bath ranch. We had everything we needed. At least I felt that way. Mom talked of financial struggles, but I never felt it...God Bless it. She was a talented cook, who took "meal time" as an opportunity to show love. I remember her boiling chicken necks in the tiny kitchen to make a warm, comfortable, scrumtious meal of chicken and noodles. Dinner time was something we all looked forward to. Perhaps, because at that time of the day, we were all together. I don't have memories of praying around the table, but mom and dad weren't religious people. I can't say they weren't faithful people. God was talked about often...especially living by the "Golden Rule". There was alot of love shared around the kitchen table. Funny how a small circular table became such a great symbol of love in my family...and is still today. I also have to mention that my mother was an extremely talented seamstress. My sister and I always looked well dressed in our little sundresses and rompers. There are many pictures I look back at and am so awed at my mother for what she did for the family. She was a great woman...God rest her soul...but that's later to come.
My sister and I shared a room...bunkbeds of course. I still remember the color of our carpet...a mixture of grays, pinks and golden yellow. My sister and I enjoyed many hours of doll playing, listening to music...and just general make believe. Do kids do that anymore? We didn't have the technology that we do today. We relied on our imagination. We had a backyard to play in, a baseball diamond near by to fly kites in, and loving neighbors. One neighbor use to help mom out by babysitting time to time. This must have been a luxury for mom, because she stayed at home to raise us with one car and dad used that for his travel to work. So, at times, I'm sure she felt rather isolated. My sister and I were great playmates, being less than 2 yrs. apart. I never felt lonely. We were close to great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and close friends. I was embraced and loved by all of them. These were the people that clearly were shaping my life...and are still today.
