A hard ? for some. Tell me about your parents, please.

[fromthe heart]

Father...started out as a farmer,then when they sold the farm drove a cement truck till he retired...In his spare time he cheated on my mother with whomever he pleased...everyone has always liked him and thought good of him...as a child he beat me with a razor strap,belt...whatever was handy...I was the oldest so when I went to visit with them It was my fault when my brother or sisters did anything wrong. Never had a relationship with him and on father's day it's hard to pick out a card...has to be funny cuz no mushy card will work. I don't think he really has much affection for me even today. I respect him and honor him...he IS my dad. He hates my mom and speaks harshly about her for having an affair and breaking up their marriage. She after all cheated only once!


Mother...worked along side of my Dad on the farm till the farm was sold then worked in a factory making shoes. Had a tendency to slap me across the face for speaking. For a while she was a good mom when she was deep into the church setting...she even held the sign language class in Sunday school...they divorced after 19 years of marriage...she turned to beer and now can drink a case of beer in a few days,adding a little of the hard stuff...she refuses to accept she's an alcolholic cuz she can hold down a job. She tells me she loves me but I don't hear from her till she needs something...less than the perfect relationship with her...she now tells my lifes story with her totally different;she says my grandparents stole me from her....???

My grandparents raised me from age 2 on...my mom wanted a boy so when my brother was born my grandparents took me and did well by me. My grandfather worked the brick yard till it closed down the worked construction till he got cancer and died in 1972...I guess a part of me died that day too. He was my protector and everything in my world revolved around him. My grandmother was a nurse,she worked maternity and ran a restaurant till I was about 6...I was alone alot or with a baby sitter. They spoiled me with all the love a child could ever want and I grew up with an old fashioned mentallity in looking at things but those old home remedies really work...lol Neighbors were also family back in my childhood...I must have had 4 moms and dads around the neighborhood. I started church at 4...(menonite)...some of them took pity on me and took me under their wing wanting the better for me. One of my neighbors said I was a chosen and protected child of God...never understood...hindsight has been enlightening.

During my moms good years she would take me to the church she was going to...(independant-fundamentalist)... I was about 10 then....she was against a child of hers going to a menonite church so she did everything to disrupt that and take me away from 'those' people.

I learned about God from an early age and God was my comfort through more tears than any child should EVER cry...I used to go up onto the ridge behind my grandparents house and sit and make up songs to sing to God and I'd always cry when I did...don't know for sure why.

I began school in hand-me-down clothes...my grandmother couldn't afford to put the kind of clothes on me my brother and sisters wore...her friends girls old clothes would do after all they were perfectly good clothes...I don't think I went one day of school without being called a little gramma by someone. When I hit high school still hand me downs...I was persecuted,hit over the head by black girls who saw me as an easy mark...it wasn't a fun childhood at all BUT I was LOVED...by God and by my grandparents and those wonderful neighbors who took pity on me. When my grandparents left me (they died)...only my husband and a few neighbors who still cared what happened to me cared how I felt. I was excluded from the all of a sudden missing will.

That is just the highlights. Not worth reading really.

Smiles, FTH

 

[almifkhar]

we will start with my father
he is a good hard working man
functional alcholic but not no more ( he has finally learned that he can drink in moderation)
good father in every aspect of the word
cathloic though not strict to the teachings so to speak
democrat
union stuaward
loves being a grandpa
single and never wants to marry again
very strong in his convictions
from debating with his daughter (me) and finally seeing the political change questions his government, but holds hope in it
he was always there for me and still is. always was a good father

my mom
hard worker
watress
does not believe in organized religion yet does believe in god
does not have a political mind and tends to let oprah do her thinking for her on political views
very creative
funictnal alcholic ( but like my father learned that moderation was better)
loves international traveling and wants to see the entire world except for england
independant woman
has a man and has been with him for like 15+ years now but will not marry him
was always a good mom was and still is there for me
she was a tyrant in the sense of she will not comprmise (when i was growing up and referring to my raising)
loves being a grandma (now)

my parents divorced when i was 4 and i think it was good that they did. my father is pretty fixed in his thinking and it takes a long time for him to see the light so to speak and my mother is uncomprimising hardcore. they both were there for me in my youth. my father never missed a weekend or a child support check. also gave mom money for my clothes if she needed the help. i lived with my mom who was a proud woman ( no finanical help from the state or a man other than my father for my needs only). she never let another man live with us and was always honest and realistic with me. very strong woman indeed and tolerated no crap. we didn't get along in my teen years for the reason of her unwillingness to comprmise. this caused me to rebel and when i was 15 she told me that i could leave when i turned 16. on my 16th. b.day i did just that. got pregnant 2 months later and she refused me to come back. in my 9th. month she must of felt bad and let me return but i only stayed with her for like 3 months. we got along great but i just didn't want to impose on her so i got my own place to live and have been on my own ever since. neither one of my folks would help me out finanically, or with babysitting my son until like 4 years later. i think they thought i learned enough about life and they were right. i do not regreat how things happened for we have more respect for each other now i think. i have a good relationship with both of my parents and much respect for them both. they werenot convental in their parenting but i think they did a good job. they dont meddle in my affairs and are there if i need them.
in case your wondering
dad is a taurus
mom is a libra
i am a sagittarius
i am the only child either of them had
mom and me butted heads in my teen years
dad and i butted heads in my 20's
now me and them have the utmost respect for one another.

 

[martha]

I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for sharing the stories of your parents. You are all so very kind and in some instances very brave to have done so.

I truly hope that others will come in and share. I see that there have been at this point, a little over 200 views, but only 21 posts. Perhaps some of the viewers or some newcomers will consider posting.

Again my deepest thanks to all. I love you for it.

Joyfully,
Martha

 

[BUDDY]

My Mom was born in France, as my grandfather was in the Army at the time. She moved all over the world and finally settled down in Arkansas, where she finished High Schoola nd started college.

My Dad was born in El Paso and was also a military brat, as my grandfather on that side was in the Air Force. He too moved all over the world and graduated High School in Shreveport, Louisiana. Then he went to the Air Force Academy. Meanwhile, while he was gone, the family moved to Arkansas as well.

At a church function they met, and have been together ever since. MY mom finished college, but decided to stay at home and raise us kids, while my dad continued his career in the military. We moved all over the world and became a very close family. You really learn to rely on each other when you have to move very couple of years. When we lived in Panama, I really learned how strong a family we had. On December 20, 1989, the US invaded tog et rid of Noriega, and since my dad was gone running the thing, my mom took over. She brought my sisters and I into the living room, and we watched movies all night while listening to the gunfire and explosions in the background. It was quite a scary night, especially since we didn't know where dad was exactly, but my mom held it all together. It was quite impressive to see her at her best.

My dad is the bravest man I know. He would do anything for his family. I don't know how else to describe it, but he continually made personal sacrifices for all of us and I have always admired that.