When I Was Just A Little Girl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This was taken when I was one, and my mom entered me in a baby contest. She said I won first place for cutest baby. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Taken at age two. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First school picture, age 5. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Graduation picture, age 17. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I was born at home in Crockett County, Tennessee about two miles from a little town named Gadsden, on December 28, 1939. If my mother had not been scared because of a big storm and had me two weeks early, I would not seem so old to some of you, as I would of been a 40's baby. I weighed in at only about 5 lbs. and had big brown eyes and dark hair. When that peach fuzz fell out though and was replaced, it came back in blond, actually more white, and I was known as a "cotton top". My hair stayed white until I was around 5 and started turning dark again, and I ended up with dark brown hair and freckles. Boy, did I hate those freckles! I still remember how much fun people made of them, including my own family. My mom said I didn't walk very young (as none of her kids did), however, I sure did talk at an early age. She said I would sit on the floor and talk in sentences at such a young age that an old neighbor said she would never raise me cause I was too smart. I am still not sure what that meant to this day, but I am sure that I did not turn out all that smart, however, I am still talking. (:> The family that I was born into was pretty big already with a mom, dad, 2 half brothers, Frank and Paul; and my mom's first born boy, Roy, who was 2 years older than me. Roy was also a cotton top and we were too close in age to get along, I guess. As far back as I can remember he and I fought about everything. Looking back, I am surprised that my mom wanted any more children with the way we were, but she had another daughter, Brenda, almost 7 years after me; and 5 years later another boy, Dennis. By the time Dennis came along, Frank was already in the navy and so was Paul, I believe. Our dad was a cotton farmer, so needless to say we were very poor. The strange thing is, though, that I never knew we were poor, because I guess most everyone in that community was in the same boat during those days. Living on a farm, though, did mean we had plenty of food, because we grew most of our own food from fruit to veggies, chickens, cows, turkeys and pigs. When I was little since I was the only daughter in this family, my dad took me everywhere with him. I remember getting to go to "The Jackson Sun" where they had the wrestling matches with him. He taught me a little poem that went something like "here I stand on this little chip, please come and kiss my sweet little lips". I felt very special back when I was just a little girl. This all changed when I was six and another girl came into our house. Before she even got there, I already disliked her. I remember hearing my old auntie saying to my mom "I hope this one is a girl, so her dad will stop spoiling her". Well sure enough it was, and boy was I upset. I was afraid to express how scared I was when I found out this new baby was a girl, but when no one was looking I remember one time I pinched her. As everyone had predicted sure enough she suddenly was getting the attention and I felt un-loved from that moment on for many years to come. When Brenda got a little older I also had to share my room with her. At first I did not like this at all, but after a while I begin to enjoy having the company and would teach her songs and poems when we went to bed at night. We shared the same room until I left home when I graduated from high school at the age of 17. Brenda was about 10 at that time, and for many years we lived miles apart and did not share our lives with each other very much at all. However after she married Richard and I married Mike, we started visiting each other more on vacations and now I consider her not only my sister, but my best friend as well. She is the only one I can share secrets with and confide in these days. |
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