Loosely based on Amy Krause Rosenthal's Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life.
Encyclopedia of Me: Volume F
Family: The family I come from had 6 children- 1 boy and 5 girls. A sister died at the age of 5. I was born 2 years and 2 months after her death. My brother is 13 years older, one sister is 11 years older, one is 10 years older, and one is 2 years younger. We all are from the same mother and father who were married nearly 60 years when my father passed away. Mom was a stay at home mother and Dad was a dreamer. It was a weird, normal upbringing. (See upbringing, see also Fears)
The family I created consists of myself and my husband of nearly 28 years. We are the proud parents of two boys that are now 18 and 20. As a couple , we decided I would be a stay at home mom. My husband is a CEO of a Y and a wonderful provider for our family. I love the investment we have put into creating what we have. (see also motherhood)
Father: This one is tough.
My dad is from Arkansas and would tell stories about his family. Dad remembers the time "the government men" came and blew up his grandfather's still. Dad said his grandfather rustled cattle from government land and was a slum lord during WWII.
Dad's dad did whatever his parents told him to do, which made my grandmother angry.
Dad had to leave home in order to go to High School, because many people only went as far as 8th grade at the time my dad was growing up.
Dad wanted to be a missionary, and apparently was engaged to someone else, when, as a traveling salesman, he ended up working at the same Krogers my mom was working at in Indiana. They were married about a year after meeting.
I think his life contributed to my father's wandering ways. Dad didn't like being told what to do, so he didn't stay in any job long. Dad owned his own fix it shop. He did lawn care. And he tried one "get rich scheme" after another. Because he refused to stick with something we had food stamps and calls from bill collectors.
I found out later that my older sisters helped pay our parents bills.
Dad smoked, but he never got drunk. He listened. He offered advice. He was there when we needed him.
So, while I can't say, "My daddy was the best daddy ever!" I loved him.
Dad died in 2012. We found out he had lung cancer that spread to his brain that January. He died in that March. (see mom, see also parents)
Fears: I am not thrilled with the dark. I am not a fan of snakes or creepy crawlies. But, the biggest fear I have is of death.
I think it is for a couple of reasons. First is that my grandmother (mom's mom) died when I was in 3rd grade. We spent all three days of visitation at the funeral home. There was so much sadness, and we were engulfed in it. We had seen Grandma Sunday morning at church and Monday morning she was gone. My parents were 36 and 38 when I was born -- older than most parents at the time. I was convinced they were going to die next. I was afraid every time they left that it would be the last time I saw them.
The other reason I think I fear death is because of my sister who died. She had turned 5 in June. In August, she and the sister who is 10 years older were playing tag in the yard. Susie fell, and her fist hit her heart, stopping it. CPR wasn't a thing then. She was dead by the time my parents got her to the hospital.
Everyone used to tell me I had her mannerisms. They used to say, "Maybe you are her reincarnated." All I knew of reincarnation then was a movie, Audrey Rose, about a girl who died in a car accident and came back to another family. The first family believed she was their daughter and hypnosis "proved" it.
Add to that, I used to have two recurring dreams. In one, I rode my tricycle into the pool at the Y. In the other I was standing on the stairs looking down on my body laying on the couch. Everyone was around me and something was wrong.
To this day, I need to know when people I love are safe. I need them to check in and let me know they got to their destination OK. I need to know I will see them again.
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