When I think about my childhood and those who influenced
me the most, I cannot move any further without talking about my mom and
dad. My mother and I were not as close
as I was with my father. My mom took
care of me by clothing me, feeding me, and caring for my personal needs, but
when things happened that I was unsure of or I needed advice about something
important in my life, I went to my father.
He was my rock and I thought he would forever be in my life until one
day, six months before my high school graduation he became ill and was
diagnosed with cancer. He died one month
before graduation and it took a long time before I was able to accept that he
was no longer a part of my life and then I was able to get over the anger. My mother and I became closer after my father
passed and I had moved away to attend college and began a new chapter in my
life.
The next person who was a great influence in my life
growing up was my maternal grandmother.
She was such a beautiful spirit and she care for all her grandchildren,
but she had a way of making each of us feel uniquely special. It was the way she held us when we cried or
the way she told us that we were her one of a kind love. She allowed us to all stay at her home at the
same time and sometime there were as many as 8 of us there together in 2
beds. She lived next door to my parents
in a 3 room house which during the sixties was pretty big. I remembered sitting in her lap while she
rock me in her rocker and told me that I had to go to sleep because that was
the only way I would grow up and be really smart. That was the one place I always felt peace
and love no matter what else was going on.
The next person who meant the world to me was my
caretaker, Mrs. Matthews. She was an
elderly woman who lived close to us. She
was not only my caretaker when my parents were working, but she also was my
first teacher. She taught me how to
write, count, alphabets and numbers. She
was a wonderful person and she always made me feel loved. She took me with her wherever she went and
although I was with her from age two until I was five, I have never forgotten
her or how wonderful she was to me.
The next person who left a lasting impression from my
early years was my Uncle Willie. He was
such a character. Many of us have
relatives, who are not been the most educated, or the most sophisticated, or
upstanding, but you never forgot them.
They were the ones who made you laugh, whom many of the older relatives
hated to see arriving, but was always the life of the gathering or family
reunion. This was my uncle. He was the best babysitter I have ever had
because he loved beer and laughter. He
would help to babysit when my grandmother became older and was unable to care
for us. He would cook, although we never
knew what it was, he would tell us funny stories and say they were true, when
we knew they were lies and he would always buy us candy so that we would have
dessert after we ate. I absolutely loved
him. He not only kept me as a child, but
also my children when they were young.
When he passed, I was very upset because my kids would never have the
chance to know him the way I did growing up.
To know him was to love him.
