Personal Childhood Web

Personal Childhood Web

My mom has been the number one influence in my life.  I think that it is because we are very much alike.  We both love music.  We play piano and sing.  I have also learned to play the guitar and the mountain dulcimer.  I joined a choir when I was 5 and have been singing ever since.  We also have a love of needlework-knitting and counted cross stitch.  She instilled in me a love for cooking; although, the only cooking I did with her growing up was cookies at Christmas time.  In fact, she and my dad thought I would starve when I moved out on my own because I had not done much cooking at home.  She and I also have the love of gardening.  It has not been until the past couple of years that I have begun to learn about flower gardening.  Now we go plant shopping together.My mom also taught me tolerance of other people who are not like myself.  I very much appreciate that about her.  The most important gift my mom has given me is my faith.  It has brought me through some very difficult times.  In fact, it was because of my faith that I met my husband, who became a minister.  Because my parents only completed high school, they impressed upon me the importance of higher education.  My mom was determined that I go to college because she was not afforded that opportunity.  She has also modeled for me the importance of doing for others.  My mom has a great sense of humor.  She is a very strong woman and is a leader in many areas of her life.  I can't believe all that she does considering how old she is!!!  I only hope that I can live up to the woman that she is.

My dad was also a great influence on my life.  He and I did a lot of things together.  We both have a love for the water.  He made me take swimming lessons from a very early age because we spent every summer either on the Rappahannock River in Virginia or in St. Petersburg, Florida.  We swam, looked for shells, went for long walks on the beach.  He also taught me how to cut grass and tend a vegetable garden.  He taught me about giving to others through the vegetable garden.  We had such a large garden that we gave vegetables to all the neighbors and still had enough to put up vegetables for ourselves.   Int the summer we would go out in the ski boat.  When I was older, he taught me how to sail.  My dad didn't talk much with me and didn't express his emotions much.  When he did talk to me about something, I knew it was important.  My dad had a strong sense of family.  He worked three jobs so my mom could stay home with my brother and me.  I grew to appreciate that about him when I was an adult.  My dad was a very quiet man.  I learned that you don't have to get recognition for everything you do.  Just do the right thing and it will all work out.

My dad's mom was also very special to me.  I don't know whether it was that I was the first grandchild or another reason, but she always took a special interest in me.  Even though we only saw my grandparents once a year, she made a point to speak with me whenever she would call my parents.  As I moved into elementary school, she became a pen pal.  As a child I remember her washing machine with a wringer.  I loved taking the clothes out of the washtub, and putting them through the wringer.  Then together we would hang them on the clothesline.  She knew a lot about shells because my grandfather worked in a shell shop.  We would walk along the beach for what seemed like hours looking for just the right shells.  As we picked them up, she would tell me about what kind they were and what was special about them.  We collected sand dollars, sea stars, I even caught a sea horse once.  I put it back in the water though.  My grandmother also taught me how to knit and crochet because my mom was left handed so it was hard for her to teach me.  My grandmother had a lot to do with my own self-worth.  I will always love her for that.