...AND THEN there were Five... Friday, December 13, 2013

 


My family sure isn’t perfect.  I did not have perfect parents and they did NOT raise perfect children.  When Mother and Daddy got married, they had planned to build a basement house and add on to it as they got the money.  The hole was dug and it sat for YEARS.  Plans change sometimes, you know.

 
Mother and Daddy moved in with the people who raised Daddy—Uncle Bud and Aunt Jenny.  My oldest brother was born one day shy of 9 months from when Mother and Daddy were married.  Mother OFTEN told me that it was LEAP year, so all was ok!  ROFL…

When Mother and Daddy got married, Mother was not old enough to get married in our county without the signature of a parent or a guardian.  One day Mother and I were talking and she made the statement that she wondered IF her Mother ever went to sign the papers for their marriage.  SINCE it was a small town and the wedding had been announced in the paper, the person who was filling out the paper said to just have MISS MAY (Mother’s Mother) to come by one day and sign the papers.  All was well.

I do not KNOW why Mother didn’t ever learn to NOT challenge me!  Mother had dropped me off at the Library one day so I could do some research for my Junior Term Paper.  I had finished what I needed to do, and so I was waiting for Mother WHEN what to my WANDERING Eyes should I see…MICRO FILM!  MANY of the older documents were stored in the Library, so I go busy…SURE ENOUGH I found Mother and Daddy’s wedding certificate and I learned a lesson that day…NEVER get into the car with your mother and ANNOUNCE to her that SHE IS a COMMON LAW WIFE…sigh…Granny never did sign the certificate!  ROFL…She learned to laugh about it as the years went by, but TIMING really is EVERYTHING!  =)

I was a hard child for my mother to handle.  I was ALWAYS hurting her feelings one way or another.  I did NOT mean to on MOST occasions, but it was just a sad gift of mine.  I could say anything to my Daddy and he and I would be fine.  Mother and I argued non-stop sometimes.  Oh, we would do fun things together and she was my MOTHER and NOT my friend.  I respected her and she did the best she could do, but I just wish she didn’t feel like she had to try so hard.  I wish SOMETIMES she could have let SOME of the teaching moments go, BUT as I’ve gotten older, MAYBE I would not have been the person I am had she given me more of a break…

My oldest Brother was an only child for eight years.  WHEN the Middle Child was born, boy, was his world ever shaken.  Bob was the GOOD CHILD.  He was a farmer—just like his Daddy.  He LOVED the land—just like his Daddy.  He was a hard worker—just like his Daddy.  Brian came along and he was the mischievous child.  Bob would plant cotton plants in milk cartons and care for them…BRIAN would pull them up, BUT have enough sense to push them back into the dirt.  Bob could NOT figure out WHY his plants were dying…sigh…Brian was the one that went through the storm door when Bob slammed it on him as he was being chased…Brian was the one who broke his collar bone jumping off the porch, but it went unnoticed until the Doctor asked WHEN he broke it…Brian was the reason the Christmas Tree was placed IN the playpen…ROFL…WHAT a mess!!  BUT both brothers were the apple of my Mother’s eye and had a Daddy that would do ANYTHING for them!  They were brilliant boys with blonde hair and blue eyes and personalities that made them so lovable…

 Then two years later…a black-haired, brown-eyed girl was thrown into the mix!  I think Bob was relieved to have someone else for Brian to harass.  I was the grumpy, disagreeable child who would argue with EVERYTHING that Mother said.  I was the one who had my Daddy wrapped around my little finger…I would stand and CRY if Daddy left without saying Good-bye, so he would turn around and come back to tell me…I was the one who went EVERYWHERE that I could go with him…on the tractor…to town with the old men…I wanted to ALWAYS be with my Daddy—even when I got older.  I think it was somewhat fitting that I found my Daddy when he left this world…

Life moves on and times change.  I was blessed to be loved so much by such a wonderful family…I HOPE that YOU have had a wonderful family.  I was shocked to learn that NOT everyone did and that makes me sad…I hope that TODAY will be a great day for YOU and that YOU KNOW that YOU are LOVED by THE ONE who KNOWS you the MOST…Blessings to YOU…~charlotte♥