Personal Childhood Web

                                                     Dad, Me, Mom

Both my parents were a huge influence on me when I was growing up.  We had a typical "Leave It To Beaver" household with dad working and mom staying home.  We were taught to respect everyone, do our chores when we were told, and help out each other whether we wanted to or not.  Dad and Mom gave me my values and morals that I have passed down to my own children.  I am at that stage in my life where I say things to my children that my parents use to say to me; "Turn off the lights, money doesn't grow on trees" or "I can't wait until you have a child of your own that acts just like you."  Being Catholic, we went to church every Sunday morning and confession every Saturday evening.  I remember complaining to my parents that I was always good and did not have anything to confess to the priest every Saturday.  Mom would then hand over a list of "bad" things I have done during the week!  After mom did this a few times, I quit saying I was always good.  Both of my parents are still alive and very active in my life even though we live in three different states.  I am a "daddy's girl" and always call him for everything; he is my hero.  Dad is the one who encouraged me to pursue my Master's Degree and I always listen to my dad.  In fact, before I make any major decisions I always consult with my dad and now my son does the same thing with me. 

My Siblings, Me (in the blue shirt), and My Dad

We were very close siblings and stuck together as a unit.  My sister is two years and two days old than myself, and we shared everything which was not always good.  We even shared birthday parties because of our birthdays being within two days of each other.  When we played school, she would always get to be the teacher, so I would always "act up in class."  We lived in Texas after dad retired from the Air Force and I remember my older brother holding a car wash in the rain, all of us selling lemonade in the summer, and collecting snowballs to put in the deep freezer so we could play with them in the summer.  By summer time we forgot we had the snowballs!  I also remember when we all wanted to open Christmas presents early but mom kept saying no.  So we instigated a sit-in in the kitchen where mom was cooking.  We sat for a long time but did not get anywhere with this.  Dad was stationed in Italy at the time and mom thought we were so cute doing the sit-in that she took a picture of us to send to dad.  Now that we are older, I am not as close to my brothers as I would like, but I sure am with my sister.  She lives in Texas, I live in Kansas and before cell phones were popular every time she went to visit dad, dad would call me.  Then he would let sis talk with me and she would always go to the opposite end of the house with the phone so we could talk for a long time.  Out of sight, out of mind....dad finally caught on when he would get the high phone bills!  One thing about my siblings, you mess with one, you mess with all of us.  Teamwork was very important to us.     

My Step-Mom

My step-mom influenced my love of animals, this is probably why I have four cats in my house!  She is a very loving and patient step- mom, and is also a great artist as I have one of her paintings hanging in my kitchen.  She has a wonder sense of humor and loves to do crafty things.  My step-mom influenced my decision to go into the early childhood field as she saw how much I enjoyed working with children.  We would make cool stories together for the flannel board.       

My Best Friend, My Sister, and Me

My sister and I shared a best friend, Susan.  Here we are modeling purses that my mom crocheted for us.  Susan's mom was our second mom as our mom was Susan's second mom.  Even though we went to different schools, we were always there for each other.  We played on the same softball team and were in each other weddings.  We made forts under the table, make potions from what we could find in the yard, and giggled about boys.  We talked constantly on the phone and gave each other advice, some good and some not so good.  We were very young in this picture, it is hard to believe we are married and have children of our own.  Her friendship influenced me by knowing that I wanted both of my children to find that one special friend who would always be there for them.  I know everyone can have tons of friends, but that one special friend will always be in your heart as you grow older.