So I have a smile on my face tonight that I don't know anyone could knock off. Got some awesome news from wonderful friends and they made my night! The call couldn't have come at a better time and the news was welcomed with tears of joys.
I am so thankful to have such wonderful people in my life.
So being that I am on a high (joyous) feeling, I also felt a little nostalgic and decided to share some
old family photos with you.
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This was my family in the 1980's. L-R Kerrie, David, Me, Mom, Johnny Ray, Standing-my father.
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There are lots of stories to this family picture. I laugh as I am writing this because John and I just had a discussion the other day about the table in this picture. The table held all my grade school writings! I apparently was a hard writer (and now a hard typer) and it always went thru the paper into the wood. I broke a toe on one of the 4 benches that went around the table. We brought the table home in a snow storm. The table moved to NM with us in 1986. That's alot of memories for a table!
The wallpaper was my mother's special. She wanted the feel of old newspaper in our dining room. Personally, it always reminded me of the tables at Wendy's restaurant. Anyway but the time we moved out of this place, I could tell you just about all the headlines from that newspaper wallpaper!
The hurricane lamp on the table. My mom had an obsession with hurricane lamps. I don't know if she was worried about losing power and we would need lamps or what but they were all over the house. One of my memories about this room was when we first moved in. Guess I should set the scene for you. This picture was taken at 235 Rutter Ave, Kingston, PA which was (and may be again) a 4 apt building complex. When we moved in we converted the 2 upstairs apts to 1 living quarter with a connecting hallway. So this dining room was actually (I think) a bedroom on the right side of the house. On the left side of the house it was a laundry room & my own personal kitchen. But back to my memory. We had a long day of moving things in. Mom was exhausted. Dad wasn't around. Not sure if he went on a fire call or to the bar for a drink. Mom set two chairs around a box, set some candles out, put a pie plate down, poured some Reese's Pieces (this was the time of ET the movie) in the pie plate & told me that was our dinner. So mom & I sat in the new home having Reese's Pieces for dinner by candle light. At a later date we also had some really horrible chicken livers (after the Bloomsburg State Fair) that even the cat wouldn't eat them.
The picture was taken by JB Earl of Earl & Sedor Photography. At the time he was dating my sister. This was one of many family pictures he did for us. I'm glad he captured this memory. Who knew what the short future for us would hold.
For my brothers & sister to be at our house, all together was a rare occurance. Typically, my brothers & sister did not get along with my father and chose not to be around often.
Don't you just love that little orphan annie perm I'm sporting. My mom used to give me my perms. I'll never forget it because it was so tight & I remember looking at the JC Penny catalog before school started and saying...why don't you just buy me little orphan annie clothes & dye my hair red. LOL
WOW! That's alot of story for one little picture!
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| This is my brother David A. Davis |
So I know I've written about my brother Dave before, when my nephew got shipped to Afghanistan. But I found this picture on my drive and wanted to share it with you. My brother Dave passed away in Nov 1986 due to suicide. We aren't supposed to talk about how he died. If memory serves me right he was 18 yrs old when he passed. My sister got married in Sept 1986, Dave died in Nov 1986, by Dec 1986 we were in a Uhaul heading to NM, leaving our family, our memories and our life behind. Yes my brother Dave was a goof. He was a big kid-well over 6 feet tall. He felt clumsy in his body. He was awkward and felt that making people laugh was a good way to ease the tensions. Dave loved all and had a sweet heart. He loved my mother's canned peaches. He would come over to steal them from the basement & when mom would realized they were gone she would just remind him to bring her canning jars back.
Dave was the only person I know who broke his knee falling off the ski lift on the way up the slope. I remember going over to see him after it happened. Being that I was several years younger & by far always shorter, I had a blast playing with this crutches.
Dave used to drive a purple Chevy Nova. What an awesome car. He did donuts in the parking lot of Pierce St Pharmacy. Funny thing about that Chevy Nova, it was my mom's pea green Chevy Nova that I used to be embarrased to be seen in. I would duck down in the seat when we passed people we knew. But after Dave transformed it, it was a cool car.
I wish my husband could have met my brother. I think they would have gotten along well. While Dave may be long gone and we are not allowed to talk about him in the family...he holds a very special place in my heart. I turn to him with questions, I share important events with him and I talk about him whenever I get the chance. I know alot of people think suicide is a selfish act, on and on and on. But until you been in the shoes of a suicide relative, you'll never understand what that person was feeling or thinking. As a young teenager I idolized my brother and thought that if I had the guts to do what he did (commit suicide) that my life would get better. Than I outgrew that phase/depression and I learned to love my memories of my brother. I made myself a promise that I would share him with everyone I meet and I do. I talk about my brother when people are talking about suicides. I don't hide it. It's not a bade of courage that I wear but a badge of honor. Yes my brother was a troubled person but he was my brother and he was very loved. He just never got the chance for me to tell him that!
We didn't have an easy life. I was my father's only child. My siblings are from a different father. But I love my brothers just the same. I grew up with (what is technically called) an intact family, my siblings grew up with their grandparents. We only saw them on weekends & holidays. They went to a different school than me. They were raised differently than me. My mother paid child support in the 1970's, their father did not.
Well that's enough memories for one night. Cheers!
But I am happy to report I did get some christmas shopping done this weekend and I managed to keep it local. Found a great little shop. It's near my office and I've been wanting to get there but could just never find the time. Well Saturday I made the time. Check them out Earth & Wears facebook page
We walked, we talked, we absorbed, we observed & I released. It was much needed decompression and I am thankful to him for having that sense about him to know I needed to decompress and knowing the perfect way to do it.
I have been following a Caring Bridge Journal for sometime now and want to share it with you. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/patrickplys/journal/1
So with that being said...I went back thru some pictures from earlier this year and reflected on my thoughts and feelings when I took them. Sharing with you some pictures of the mighty susquehanna river. Before creating this day for myself, my last memory of watching the susquehanna flood was around 1976. I remember standing at the top of the stairs & watching the water lap up. I was too young to know or understand the feelings people were having from the flood of 1972. This year has created new understandings for me of those feelings. The sense of loss, devestation, recovery.
Tomorrow is the first day of deer here in NEPA. I think it's considered a holiday for most. Schools close, men schedule vacation time, wives empty out the freezers in anticipation. What is my role in all this? My errands this morning consist of helping the man get ready. Buying clothes, hanging the stand, making sure we know where everything is that he will need in the AM. Than tomorrow I will groggily wish him good luck & than fall back asleep until it is time to get the pups up and leash walk them before heading off to work at an appropriate enough time so as not to disturb the deer that may be crossing. I will wait with anticipation for the phone call to tell me that he got the handsome buck that we've been watching, than I will be calling around for prices on a freezer. When I get home the deer will be ready for pictures (my favorite part) and than off we'll go to the butcher. When the meat comes home, there will be lots of chili, kielbasa & roasts made. Yum! I like the benefits of deer season.
