Block 25

Block #25

Home . . . 

where I learned to be

.who I am today.

I was blessed to have parents 

who put no stipulations

on "being a girl."

Now,

granted,

there were times 

when I would complain

because "Lee gets to do it!"

And my answer was,

"Lee's a boy."

Well,

Lee was also 

4 years older than me.

So, 

I am sure,

that most of the time 

it was an age thing.

My parents 

raised me to be:

1. an individual.

2. comfortable in my own skin.

3. independent

4. happy.

5. respectful.

6. a future college graduate.

7. accepting of others less fortunate. 

8. comfortable around my elders.

9. not afraid to take risks.

10. the person I grew up to be.

All of this began at home,

The home that

had once been the "clubhouse"

for the men who worked the

Vandalia Railroad.

The place they would stay 

when they dead-headed into town.

He and Grandma

had the house moved

(using logs as rollers)

from it's location

1 block north of where we lived.

Grandpa died months after

 Lee was born.

Mom and Dad moved home.

Until,

it just dawned on me,

Until my grandma died 

the Saturday night 

of Memorial Day weekend,

(which would have been last night) 

when I was 10 and Lee was 14, 

we lived in my Grandma's house.

I didn't know any different.

My friends didn't live with

their grandparents.

But most had grandparents

in town whom they often visited.

I thought it was perfectly normal 

to live with a grandparent.

I suppose I was 

one of the last generations

to do this.

I think

that living with Grandma

is one of the reasons

I have always felt so comfortable

with older people.

My love of rocking chairs,

swings

and crochet . . .

they all stem back to Grandma .

Many a morning,

when I woke up

and Mom was cooking breakfast

for Dad before work

and Lee before school,

I would sit on Grandma's lap,

in her rocker,

by the dining room window,

and rock,

and rock,

and rock.

What a way 

too wake up in the morning . . . 

or

to go back to sleep if the spirit moved me.

All that made me

what I am today

comes from being raised

in my home.

All eight rooms
full basement,
pantry, 

front and back porches,

back yard with swing set

and Mary Packard next door

with Mrs. Larrison next to Mary P.

This song kept repeating through my head
as I made this square.
Sometimes you just want to be
"Homeward Bound.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for placing me in the family that lived in town. One block from Aunt Helen. down the block from Fonda Jo, across the street from Sheila and her family, next door to Mary and Bert and two houses from Mrs. Larrison. You let me experience, from a young age, what it was to  have money and what it would to be poor. What it was like to be old, and what it was like to be a newborn. All these things were normal. I had no idea that  there were those who thought all people weren't equal. They were in my corner of the world, and I thank You for that.

Amen

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