My Parents

My parents, despite the troubles I learned they had when I got older, made me feel loved. They married young, at a mere 17, had me when mom was 19. Daddy was in the military when they met, stationed at Shepherd Air Force base. I don't know too much they never really told me about their love story; but I have a few letters given to me by a realative who has passed on, and my dad sounded very much crazy in love with my mom. He started going to church with my mother and was even baptized. I think there was no discipleship so he drifted away.

They had a rough time, apparently my dad even left my mom for while and went to his the places and people he'd grown up around as a boy, leaving my mother and me behind. Thank God my mother followed him and somehow they got back together.

My recollections of them as a young child are few and far between. I remember just feeling loved. I thought my dad was huge....

As I grew some things became more apparent to me...that my dad was more demonstrative than my mom in the areas of affection and encouragment. I remember my dad whistling alot and his deep voice.
He gave me great hugs. As a girl I helped my dad "do things" in the garage and around the yard and loved every minute of it.

My mother was hard working as most mothers are, and I did not fully appreciate the depth of her hard work until I was a mother myself. She worked full time at the same courthouse as my dad and they traveled to work together. Mom seemed to struggle with the load, telling me later that my dad helped her rarely. So I am sure she was so tired most of the time and longed for him to want to help her. Whatever the dynamics of their relationship, for the most part, I thought I had THE best parents and that I was very loved and so I guess they did a pretty good job with the important part of the job.

My parents were very different. My mother expressed her faith in regular church attendance and she took us from the time we were small. My father rarely attended, usually if something was happening that involved one of us kids. I don't really remember my folks having fights. Usually if they were having a disagreement mom would get quiet and sob.
My mom read me the annual Christmas story from the local paper,...it was one of my fondest memories. Mom would sit in the chair and I would sit on the arm of the chair, each night there was an installment; I loved it.

My folks worked hard, my dad sometimes worked 1 or 2 extra jobs. he played harmonica, was great working with wood and tools, whistled wonderfully, and took us camping. Sadly daddy smoked, from 16 till the day he died at the age of 40.

My mother was a talented seamstress and crafts person, there wasn't much she couldn't do and she was a fine cook. She made our lives orderly, loving and directed. She taught us about God and for that I am so grateful.