My Childhood Web

I was born into a very large family.  Although in my house it was just the 4 of us my parents, my sister and myself.  Our extended family is just an important part of my childhood as my parents. Both my paternal family and my maternal spent significant time with me nurturing my dreams and encouraging me to be whomever I want to be.

My Mother Marjorie is my biggest influence.  She comes from meager beginnings and worked and struggled to educate herself.  She always encouraged us to try our best in everything I do.  She supported our ambitions and was instrumental in helping me to be the woman I am.  We used to play this game called UpWords.  It is sort of like scrabble but you have to build the words on top of another.  She would beat us everytime showing no mercy.  We would get frustrated but she never allowed us to give up.  "Play Me Again!" She would say sternly.  Don't get mad, get better.  And we did.  We would read everything building an arsenal of words to combat the champion.  And she would still beat us.  Play Me AGAIN...  And we did. We played her until we beat her.  Eventually we beat her and beat her again.  In playing this game my mother taught me perseverance.  Don't give up on something you want.  Nothing is going to come to me easy.  I have to work for it and if it is what I desire, I will want to work for it.  I attribute this lesson to my success in my adult career.  I do not give up on myself or my students.  When things do not align how I would like, I do not get mad I get better.  Thanks MOM

My Maternal Grandma Frances.  We call her Memaw.
From the time I was a 6 month old baby, I spent my summers in North Carolina with my Memaw.  For as far as I can remember, my summer days were spent in her school.  She had founded alongside some members of her church family a private christian academy.  She was the Principle, the secretary, the cook and the kindergarten teacher.  I remember that we would arrive early in the morning to open the building and prepare breakfast and we were the last to leave the building and lock up.  She introduced me the need of exceptional and challenging education for young children.  The Academy enrolled children from 2 years old to 8th grade.  The kids learned everything from Bible to Latin and all in between.  She taught me about dedication.  Honoring our commitments.  She was always there to explain things from a biblical aspect.  She helped mold my moral integrity.  I utilize my integrity and moral aptitude daily.




My Paternal Aunt Mildred,  I affectionately call her my Auntie Twin

She is a retired school teacher.  I spent many weekends with her helping her organize her papers and prepare for projects.  I was something like her guinea pig.  She tried out new methods on me and asked if I like this or how I would feel about that.  She was always interested in my studies and often asked me about my future, what I wanted to be or what college I wanted to attend.  Her influenced allowed me to see myself in the future and focus on what I wanted to be.  I believed what she told me and it came true.  Now she is a major presence in my life.




My Paternal Grandma Queenie
I was her favorite.  That is a fact.  I reminded her of her mother the most.  SO I was a clear favorite of all of my cousins.  What I remember of my Grandma Queenie is that she loved me unconditionally.  She loved me just the way I was.  When my mother thought I was to big she said I was perfect.  When I was in trouble she was stern but loving and encouraged me to look beyond my faults.  She was the glue to our family.  She loved her family and taught me lessons about taking care of others.  Being available to help when needed.  Her lessons of love and family carry me throughout life.  I can remember her enlisting help from us to prepare meals for large family gatherings.  We all were a part of the committee.  Everyone had a job. And to her each job was important.  She made it okay to have original thoughts and reassured me that I was going to be great at whatever I wanted to do.







Recently my family lost my eldest cousin and the first born grandchild to my Paternal grandparents.  Shawn.  My cousin was filled with life.  He loved to laugh and was ready to crack a joke to lighten a mood.  My cousin was the protector.  If anyone had a problem we all ran to Shawn and he was already in protector mode.  He was always wise and prepared to give advice from how to tie my shoes to maneuvering our parents when they were upset.  Its funny that now that he is no longer with us, we all felt like we were the closest to him.  That is what he did.  He made us each feel special and that he is looking out for us.  My cousin taught me how to stand up for myself.  He taught me to protect others and when to stand up for someone else.  I learned about how to live life looking for the silver lining in every dark cloud.  That is what he did.  I cannot remember a time that he wasn't saying something funny and making the entire room feel light.  In my adult life he applauded my stance on education and what I do for the children I serve.  He said that my influence gave him the confidence to go back to school himself.  3 months before he died, he finished his degree in IT.  I can say that he has greatly impacted how I view life.  It's gonna be hard to imagine life without his wisdom.  But I am grateful for the gems he left with me.  

I was fortunate to have many influential people take time and invest in my development.  I cannot imagine who I would be or what I would be doing had I not been born into the large loving family that I was.  I appreciate and love them each individually.