Personal Childhood Web

There are a few people in my life that have nurtured, cared for, and inspired me as I grew into a woman and a mother. The first and most important person is my grandmother Eileen. She was a pastor with such a strong faith in her God that I so admired. It was not the religious belief that I admired it was the faith that she carried. That faith she carried not only for the God of her belief but for her husband, her children, family and close friends. She had faith that they would always do the right thing and her love and forgiveness never faltered. My Uncle suffered from alcoholism and she was never mad or resentful. She always forgave immediately. I believe she is the one who taught me the morals and values of a family unit and how to love someone unconditionally. My mother and I had a strained relationship and she is who I looked up to as a mother figure. My grandmother and I were close in every way. I spent a lot of time with her. She was the only one in her family to get a college degree and I am the first in our family to get one. Getting my college degree was very important to her and I carried that all the way to the end. It might have taken me awhile to finish but with the memory of her and what she wanted for me I was able to push through. When I was in high school she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It was so very hard because it hit so fast and progressed just as fast. She forgot everyone, except for me. My father would go into see her and she would not know who he was but she never forgot me. Even when I failed to go see her, she asked about me by name and if I had finished school yet. She remains to be a driving force in my life. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of her and the way that she lived her life. I want to be a strong, faithful person as she was until the day that she passed.

The next two people that were strong influences in my life were my maternal grandparents. John and Darlene were my grandparents that lived right across the street from me my entire childhood. The funny thing about it, they still lived in the house that my mother grew up in, and we lived in the house across the street, the one my father grew up in. When children get to visit their grandparents I am sure it was not as often as my siblings and I got to visit with ours. We were in and out of their house during the day as much as our own. Together they were highly respected in the community. They volunteered through many different organizations throughout the community. One of the bigger community organizations they volunteered for was the Red Cross. In 1985 a very large tornado hit our community. My grandparents were the first ones on the scene to help those who lost their homes and needed assistance. I still to this day can never pin point what exactly it was, but every storm after that I wanted to be at my grandparents’ house. I would cry to go over there, which was where I felt safe. My grandfather was a big jolly man who played Santa every year for many different events. He was loved by many. I was the first grandchild and I was spoiled by both of my grandparents. They always made me feel special and I always was entertained by the both of them. My grandmother was the first to be hit with cancer. She had breast cancer. My grandfather was the next, with prostate cancer. To see them both fight the disease in such positive ways was influential and inspiring. Today I often think of their lives and the selfless way that they lived even when terminally ill. My grandmother’s cancer came back ten years later and went to her brain. She loved to go to Las Vegas with her family at least a few times a year. The last time she went was the last time she was conscious in her lifetime. I carry the love they had for me always.

My cousin Alyse was only a year older than me but still very influential in my life. She was the one I looked up to in many scenarios in my life. She taught me most things about how to be a teenager. I grew up in a neighborhood filled with boys and when it was time to go into junior high school I was lost. I really didn’t have many friends and I didn’t fit in. She taught me the latest trends and showed me how to dress. She would even bring me clothes to wear. She was in a grade higher than me and so she would also try to be an influence with her friends and protect me during junior high and high school. She was always my protector. She was not only family she was my best friend. We have recently lost touch in the past few years due to things that I cannot control, however I still consider her my best friend and I would do anything for her. I think about her daily and I hope one day we can mend our relationship and go back to the sisters we once were.