Greetings. It is another gorgeous day here in Arizona. Unfortunately, it is a bit warmer than I would like. The temps are going to be almost 90F today. Come on weather! It is November! I have sweaters and sweatshirts I want to wear. (sigh)
My to do list is quite a bit shorter today. I got so much accomplished yesterday. Today, I am hoping to pull my sweater out of it's work basket and get quite a bit done on it. I have not touched it since Saturday at our retreat.
That is not why you are here, right? Let me tell you about my thankful item today.
Today I am thankful for my childhood. I was blessed to have two very loving parents. Never, did I doubt the fact they loved me and treasured me as their daughter. Yes, I was truly blessed. My parents had rules (curfews, homework, chores around the house) but nothing that was cruel or inappropriate for my age. Mom taught me to sew, knit, clean and tried to teach me to cook. My dad taught me how to change the oil and tire on my car. He also taught me to tie my shoes (he was a lefty too), how to write without backward slants. My parents and I sang in the church choir together until I married and moved away from my home town. We visited both sets of our grandparents each summer and that was a 9 hour drive in a car without air conditioning. We played board games and card games as a family. The Wonderful World of Disney, Ed Sullivan, The Shirley Temple Hour and Red Skelton were watched each week as a family. (I just showed my age, huh) My mom made almost all of my clothes including my prom dresses (back then it was cheaper to do that). She even knit and sewed clothes for my Barbie dolls. My brother introduced me to the music of the Beach Boys and showed me how to put model cars together. He taught me how to whistle loudly without using my fingers. (that came in handy many times) Yes, my childhood was good and I would not have asked for anything different.
When I read stories of children in abusive homes, I cry. How could anyone hurt a child, no matter what they did or didn't do! I worked in a school nurses office for a year and seeing kids come in with bruises and other marks on their bodies because they refused to walk to the convenience store at midnight to buy mom/dad something, made my blood boil! They are children. I am talking about ages 5-7! It bothered me so much, I never applied for another job in a school health office. Too many times CPS had to be called because of injuries inflicted on a child by the parents. Yet those children would not say anything bad about their parents. So frustrating. I wanted to grab each of them and bring them home with me to show them that childhood should be enjoyed and not feared.
To my mom, dad, and brother, thank you for giving me a blessed childhood. You may all be gone from this earth, but your memories live on in me.
Oh, Marsha....that was beautiful. I know exactly how you feel about children being abused. I didn't have the greatest parents but it could have been worse...much worse. I had wonderful supportive relatives that I stayed with every summer and those summers were my greatest childhood memories. I'm so glad you had such loving parents...it shows in the love you give to others.
ReplyDeleteThis was great to read, Marsha. Your mention of neglected and abused children not speaking bad about their parents reminded me of a book called Breaking Night by Liz Murray. I highly recommend it. For a book about a child who grew up neglected, in the end it is very uplifting. I realize you're not asking for a book recommendation. It just came to mind as I read your post.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome childhood you had.
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