Personal Childhood Web

The 5 most significant people in my life are my mom, my dad, my Grandma Altha, my Grandma Ava and my Grandpa Morris.

My mother Jane is the most loyal and trusting person I know she taught me what to look for when selecting a spouse and my husband Jairo is so much like her it is scary at times.

My dad Glen is the most even tempered person I know and he is a master at dealing with stress and never letting any one see him sweat.  Because of my dad I have learned to be very even tempered and never show my emotion in situations.  At work I am often referred to as the best poker face ever because they can't tell if I am upset with the situation or not because my expression never changes.

My grandma Altha was the most fair person I have ever met in my life.  If she gave one of us grand kids a piece of gum she would put a piece of gum in the mail to the others so that they would not feel left out.  Actually, she was not quite that bad, but she was always very fair.  Because of what that meant to me growing up my husband and I chose to do institute the same philosophy for our children.  What we do one child we do for all or we don't do at all.

My grandma Ava was an intelligent, dedicated teacher and administrator.  She taught me to always work hard and never stop learning because knowledge is power.  She is the reason that I am working in early childhood and working to be a strong advocate for children.  Because children can't vote so they are powerless with out us.

My grandpa Morris was the funniest man and the best storyteller I have ever known.  I loved to listen to his stories as a child.  I learned that I to have the gift of storytelling and enjoy it on an almost daily basis.  Storytelling is an outlet for life for me.  It is a way of letting go and getting grounded.

One of my favorite memories as a child has been brought to the for front of my thinking this week.  My husband, my mother, and our two daughters have been on a road trip from OK to Washington, DC to drop my daughter off for her summer internship.  We stopped in Memphis, TN to visit Graceland and I kept thinking about the night that Elvis died and me and my dad stayed up all night to watch all of his movies that were being played on television.  As a child staying up all night to watch television was quite a treat, but now the part that is most special is the time I had with my dad just the two of us.

I love that these five people were and are in my life and what a difference they have each made on the women I am today.  Thank you God for them!!