Personal Childhood Web

My mom: The head of our household and matriarch of our little family. She was a single mother raising her daughters on a limited income. She made sure that we had relationships with other members of our extended family on both sides, even though she and my dad divorced when I was very young. As a child this was one of the ways in which she made sure I was nurtured and cared for. Clearly, she provided for me in a day to day sense but the way she fostered my relationships with others was critical to helping me develop.

She is an independent woman who knows herself completely. I have a deep level of respect for my mom. While she was raising my sister and me she instilled in us the idea that we can do anything if we put in the effort to achieve it. She finished her Bachelor’s degree at the age of 50 and had been pursuing it all through my childhood, one class at a time (there was no online, accelerated program back then). This is one important way in which her influence still impacts my life today. I still believe that if I put my mind to it and I work for it I can accomplish anything.

My Sister:  By far one of the most important people in my life. She is only 3 years older and we shared a room all through our childhood. You will notice she is in every picture with me in this post because we were inseparable when we were younger. Just 5 years ago she moved out to Arizona, where I have been living for 22 years, and we are once again undividable. Growing up she nurtured me and cared for me in so many ways I could never describe them all. However, to me the most important way is that she has always accepted me for exactly who I am. She continues to do this to this day. We can talk on the phone for 4 hours or more at a time and never run out of things to say because we share everything. This is the first relationship I ever had that involved complete and total trust.

My sister is a writer and in her first published novel she dedicated it to me:

This really says it all!

Grandparents: Although I was fortunate enough to grow up knowing all 4 of my grandparents I was particularly close to those on my dad’s side of the family. My dad lived downstairs from them while I was growing up and any time we went for visitation with him we spent a lot of time with my grandparents. I remember the smells of my grandmother’s kitchen and the warmth that they always showed toward my sister and me. It brings tears to my eyes when I think about how close I was to my Gramma Alice (Gram) because we shared a very special relationship. I would cuddle up with her while we read or watched TV. She always had kisses and hugs for me and she had a special way of giving those kisses- three short and one long and she made the loudest kissing noises while she did it! I have taken to kissing the kids of my good friends in this way and I’m sure if I had kids of my own this would be a generational trait that would continue to be passed down.

My Grampa Ed (Gramp) was a bear of a man and had hands the size of baseball mitts. He was also the most gentle, friendly, loving man I have ever known. He was also incredibly funny. He always had a trick to play or a joke to tell and he made me laugh hysterically (and sometimes groan from the puns). He cared about my sister and me with a ferocity that is hard to explain. Putting into words these types of relationships is a real challenge because it is hard to describe a feeling that is so deep and eternal. I strive to match Gram’s warmth and loving nature and Gramp’s sense of humor every day.

Aunts and Uncles: Much like my grandparents I had close relationships with a few of my aunts and uncles but one set in particular. My Aunt Trish and Uncle Jeff were like surrogate parents to me. We spent an incredible amount of time with them and they always made me feel special. They were there for every life event but they also took care of us a lot on the weekends when my mom was doing school work. Or, my dad would take us to their house when we had a long weekend with him. Trish taught me to cook, do all sorts of crafts, and all about great 60s/70s rock music. Trish and Jeff took us on all sorts of adventures, too. His cousin was the drummer of the band The Cars and they took me to my first concert ever. They took us camping and apple picking. But my favorite story is the time they took us to Disney World in Florida.

I was about 8 years old and we had gone to Disney for a week. At some point while we were there my sister and I conspired in the pool to ask Uncle Jeff if we could call him dad while we were there. There were a bunch of kids in the pool with their dads and we were feeling left out. Jeff is a loving man but not very mushy- that day tears actually came to his eyes and he told us of course we could call him dad. That is one indication of how much of an influence they were on both my sister and me. To this day I think about the idea that a mom or dad doesn’t have to be your biological parent in order to mean as much to you.

A special song Trish used to sing to me because I was always right behind her.

 All of these family members had a huge impact on my upbringing and on who I am today. Although I spent time with others, and could have had a web of 12-15 people, these are the few that I could narrow down for the sake of space (and based on the assignment criteria).