I was fortunate to grow up in a family that cares about me, with many people supporting me, such as my father, my mother, my siblings, my Sunday school teacher, and my aunt.
Growing up, my father was always there for me, my favorite activity was anything that involved him, especially running any errands. My father influenced me to follow my dreams and to live life in the moment. We want on a family vacation every year and went camping multiple times a year. He always made me feel special by spending time with me. My father still impacts my life today, I know if I ever need advice, I can call him, and he will help me out no matter what the situation is. I spent a lot of time with my mother growing up, I was homeschool until college. My mother supported my schooling and made sure I received a quality education in a safe environment. She still continues to impact my life with her knowledge; whenever I have questions about anything medical related, I ask her. My mom use to be a nurse for many years, this is incredibly helpful because I can talk to her before having to go to the doctor. I have two brothers and one sister all older than me since I am the youngest, my siblings helped care for me quite often. They helped teach me right from wrong since many of my Sunday school, and Awana teachers already had my siblings; they expected big things from me. Since my siblings set the bar high, I had to work harder to meet that bar. My siblings are still present to this day, and I talk to them when I can. I still look up to them to this day and learn from them on how I should live my life and raise my children. I don't remember what specific grade I was in, maybe 3rd or 4th, but this is one of my first memories of wanting to be a teacher. This Sunday school teacher allowed us to help her teach every couple of Sunday's and I absolutely loved it. Although I do not see her anymore, I still think about that time in my life whenever I doubt that I should teach. It is an excellent reminder that she saw something in me all those years ago. My aunt was around a lot as a child, and for many holidays she would spend the night before in my room with me. This was such a special bond between us that is still there to this day.
Hi Mary,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you had a very supportive childhood. I noticed that you mentioned your mom and dad spent time with you. This is so important for children, simply spending time doing simple things or nothing at all. I think in our busy society nowadays some times people forget that one of the best gifts you can give a child is your time. I enjoyed reading your post.
Hi Mary,
ReplyDeleteYou describe a very solid support system. The way you speak of the Sunday school teacher, it is as if she influenced you every day. The fact that she was a "sometimes" teacher, once a week is powerful. This person must have been an extremely effective teacher. Thank for posting.
Travis Alumbaugh
First, I want to say thank you for sharing your childhood web with us. After reading about your father it made think back about my own father and all the love he had for me and my sister. He died 13 years ago and some days it feels just like yesterday. I miss his jokes and silly things he did to make you laugh. Wow, how did that feel to be home schooled for all that time? Did you miss being with others or there were times you interacted with other homeschool students for the social interactions? It’s something about having siblings especially more than one to interact with and bounce things off of. At times I wish I had more than one sibling to have built a major bond with because I feel that when you have a big family everyone is much closer to one another or you have groupings of those who are closer than the either.
ReplyDeleteTanya
Hello Tanya,
DeleteIt was strange being homeschooled that long, personally I would have loved to experience public school at least once. I was apart of a homeschool group that met every other Friday for a park day, we also have various events throughout the year. I also attended church and AWANA so I was not lacking in the social area.
Just by reading your post I can feel how happy you were while spending time with your mom and dad. A lot of kids miss out on that time with their parents because their parents are so wrapped up in their careers. I have talked to many kids that say their parents are always on the phone with work. You guys seem to be a tight knit family.
ReplyDeleteLaToya Williams