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

(661)

Blocks 9 - 10

My Family Tree extends out

to Aunt Ruth and Aunt Helen.

They are Dad's sisters.

Dad was the oldest,

then Aunt Ruth

followed by Aunt Helen.

Aunt Ruth met and married Uncle Norman.

He had come back from the service,

left Cass County

and worked at US Steel in Gary.

When they married,

Aunt Ruth moved to "the region."

They had 2 daughters:

Marilyn and Debbie.

Every summer,

once we were old enough,

I would go to Gary and spend a week

and each of them would come to Logan

and spend a week.

I am SO HAPPY that we got to do this.

We three became as close as peas in a pod when we were together.

Mom always said that when we got together

we started up right where we left off.

Aunt Ruth had worked before she got marred,

but when she moved to Gary

she became a stay at home wife.

When I would visit,

 I was always eager to see what she would cook.

She had a mixing bowl on a stand,

not a hand mixer like we had.

I always wondered

if THAT was what made her food taste so good.

She made something called Johnny Marzetti . .

basically a hamburger and macaroni dish,

(if memory serves me right),

Cole Slaw

and corn bread that I can remember to this day.

I have yet to taste any of the three,

no matter how they are made,

that comes anywhere close to Aunt Ruth's.

So my Block #9

is in honor of Aunt Ruth.

In case you can't tell,

it  is an ear of corn.

Aunt Ruth

made

the ONLY

corn bread

that I ever liked.

I don't know what she did to them,

except she made them in those cast iron pans

that made them look like little ears of corn,

but to this day

hers are the ONLY ONES I have ever liked.

I don't care whos' recipe you have.

I don't care if your recipe has won State fair awards.

I don't care if your recipe

got you a show on the Food Network.

My Aunt Ruth

made

THE BEST

corn bread ever to be made

in the whole

United States of America.

No Exceptions ! ! ! ! !

Block #10

is honors my Aunt Helen.

I am sitting here laughing

because

Lee,

Marilyn

 Debbie and I

drove poor Aunt Helen

NUTZ ! ! ! ! !

Well, to be honest,

maybe not Debbie . .

she was the youngest

and the nicest of the 4 of us.

But the three remaining cousins made up for her.

Aunt Helen never married.

The 4 of us were the only kids she ever had.

We all loved her a TON

and she,

in return,

loved us more.

For many  years, at Christmas,

she would give all four of us the same present.

Lee doesn't remember this story . . .

but, as I say,

Lee wouldn't remember he had a sister

if his 4 kids didn't remind him :o}

Marilyn,

Debbie

and I remember it well.

Aunt Helen made us

Sock Monkeys

one year for Christmas.

That was when the filling for toys

wasn't nice like it is now.

By the time she got done,

she had that rubber feeling,

pellet looking

stuffing

all over her apartment.

I know she swore never to make anything like these again.

And,

I am 100% sure,

knowing Aunt Helen,

that she swore more than that!

One year,

not to long ago,

I found Sock Monkey

Christmas Tree ornaments.

Of course,

I bought 1 for Marilyn

and 1 for Debbie.

They both said

that when they opened them they started laughing.

They knew EXACTLY what they meant.

Aunt Ruth didn't remember the story,

but the girls filled her in.

So,

Aunt Helen

 got a Sock Monkey

 from me

 today.

100 Blessings Squares

Blocks 1 - 10 completed.

May 12, 2010.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for blessing me with two of the best, though totally different, aunts. Aunt Ruth showed me what pure kindness is. When I am around her, I always have a calm, serene feeling.

And Aunt Helen . . what can I say but laugh. She brought me so much joy in my life. I know I picked on her too much, but I also know that she didn't mind. I sure was lucky to have her living only 1 block from me the whole time I was growing up. Not many nieces / nephews are that lucky. She welcomed all of us into her home any time we wanted to visit . . and I am sure that I visited way to many times, at times.

Lord, you have truly blessed my life with people who have unconditionally loved me for who I am. Not for what they wish I was, or wished I would have become. For this, I am forever in your debt.

Amen.