Childhood

One of my favorite movies is "Hope Floats" and at the end of the movie, they are commenting on the effect your childhood has on you... my favorite line in that is "childhood is what you spend the rest of your life trying to overcome".... and there are parts of my childhood that I can say I feel that way about... but there are other times that were so fun. My cousin Jennifer recalled a time when we went tubing down her front yard during the snow, which dug up other memories... fun and simple, and sometimes sad memories of a childhood long past. My first memory was of my mom coming into my room and helping me out of a baby doll stroller that my friend had decided that I should climb into, I think I was three... I distinctly remember that stroller pinching my fingers... I can still recall the throbbing! I also remember the hardest day of my life was when my Aunt Phyll was with my sister and I, and she bought us ice cream and we went down to the courthouse. Not too long before that, I remember being with my mom in an apartment in Kernersville and playing with my Silly Putty and my dad coming to pick us up. I also remember my dad not taking us back like he was supposed to a few days later. Phyll was buying us ice cream that day to help with the hurt of my dad ripping us from our mother, my Aunt Phyll and my mom were the only angels that I had that day and many other times back then.... that is the part of my childhood I am still trying to overcome... the time of a baby girl without her mother and the longing feeling I always had for her and the way my dad, until the day I left his home, tried to keep me from my mother, all just to hurt her. He even told my stepmother that he did it just to spite my mom and that my mom was a good mom, he just wanted her to hurt because he knew that my sister and I were my mom's life and that without us, she would be heart broken, I wonder why some people are so sadistic...Now, my life and my mother's life was forever changed... all because a grown man only thought of himself, and thought of himself as God. So, thanks for the memories on that one PeeWee... there is a good explanation if one was wondering why I don't want to have anything to do with my father.

But some of the BEST memories I have of my childhood are playing with my sister, and my cousins and being in the UMYF at Morris Chapel UMC, which saved my life so many times, and of course spending time with my mom. Although while living on the farm we had to work, my sister, Vicki and my cousins Sherry and Jenn and I had lots of fun, too... one summer while packing tobacco, I recall the toy of choice was a box that some type of appliance came in... oh, that became our little playhouse. We drew in everything from curtains to a rug in that little house! We cut out windows that opened and closed and had the best time! We would also take walks down into the woods behind "the old house", which was an old homeplace behind the fields where corn, tobacco and other crops were planted. We would trek down there and nose around the house, hoping to find treasure. We did find a trophy one day beside the pack house, I think it was someone's bowling trophy.. why it was there, I don't know!
I also loved being a part of the UMYF at Morris Chapel, my church family was so important to me then, they did indeed help to fill a void. As a part of UMYF, we did so many fun things, we had Rock-a-thons, car washes, impromptu volleyball and tag football games. What is a rock-a-thon, you ask? Well, one sits in a rocking chair for 12 hours to raise money... okay, we never sat in them the whole time, but we had to keep the chair rocking for that amount of time, except for when we took bathroom and stretch breaks! I have laid on the floor and rocked my chair with my fingers!! We would pack snacks, sleeping bags, Atari and Beta tapes of movies!!! It was a great time! I also remember a time when we had a mock wedding.. the whole church turned out! I think one of my favorite times was when we did the live Nativity scene annually. We would have live animals and greenery, as well as the "stable"... our angels would be on ladders and the roof behind the "stable"... and the music was beautiful. We always had hot chocolate awaiting us after our shift was over... but the best thing I got from being a part of that group, was my relationship with Jesus... He is my rock and my salvation!
And I will tell you, I have the most beautiful mom! She had the longest and prettiest blonde hair! And you talk about spoiling someone rotten... I loved to be sick in her care! She would wait on me hand and foot and was so accomodating, and still is! I would even fake being sick sometimes just to get her undivided attention! But she was always sweet... granted we had our times, but those were mostly because of me... I was a teenager at one time, do I need to say anything else? I am so thankful for my mom and for the time that I have with her... she is the strongest and kindest woman I know and I am so proud of her... and I depend on her now with advice on how to help Savannah to become the strong and independent young lady that she will need to be to survive in today's society. What a great role model Savannah and I both have in her... I have always been and always will be my mom's baby, her "punkin"!

Thank you God for all of my childhood, even the hard times, I give thanks!