Tuesday, April 3, 2018

My Family Part 3


My parents wasted no time starting a family. It was the days before reliable birth control so it was what every married couple did.

Ten months after the wedding Mom gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with dark hair and bright blue eyes. Her name was Melva Lynn after Daddy's first name and Mom's nickname.

I was a pampered child. My youngest uncle is only 3 years older than me. Actually for 4 days every year it is only 2 years older because our birthdays are so close.

My father had not known my mother when he was in the Navy. However he brought 2 kimonos with him when he came home. One was for his wife and one was for his little girl. I wore that kimono until I could no longer fit in it.

A little over a year later came a bouncing baby boy named Gary Melvan. Mom always said he was the most unsatisfactory baby. He did not like being held. He liked being by himself.

Except for a few years of marriage that was the way he lived most of his life. Alone. He had a heart attack at age 42 during Hurricane Andrew in Florida. He was in the hospital for about 3 days before he could remember our sister's number to notify family.

Gary recovered but had problems with his heart after that. He died the same way he lived. Alone. He was living in New York State and had a fatal heart attack.

Less than a year after Gary was born Randall Thomas was born. He was also a pretty baby. (We all were.) We called him Randy.

Randy was outgoing and (at least in my opinion) pushy. Now do not take that to mean we did not get along. We were all very close. Any mischief was done by Randy and me.

Randy was drafted in 1969. You will recognize that as one of the Viet Nam years. He was killed in 1970. It was the only time I ever saw my father cry.

Rebecca Rae was born 2 years after Randy. When her hair began to grow a bit it turned into little dark ringlets that looked like pincurls all over her head.

We called her Becky. She was a sassy child. she did not walk; she sashayed.

Becky had a stroke a few years ago. Her left side is paralized and she is presently living in a nursing home.

Two years after Becky came David Lee. David was a strange child. I have often said that David acted like his head was in a cloud. He often did not realize that anyone else existed.

David's passion was his cars and trucks... toys of course. He is probably the champion cars and trucks player of all time. He would take the hoe and drag it along the ground to make roads. Sometimes we played with him and sometimes he was content to play alone.

Finally I have a sibling I can report is still alive and healthy.

Right before David was due to begin kindergarten he was allowed to tell the rest of us that our parents were going to have another baby. It was so exciting.

Nalinlee Teddi was born when I was eleven. That seems to be the age a girl's mothering instinct really kicks in. She was my baby to spoil.

Nalinlee loved being a baby. When she was about 8 years old she finally gave in and allowed us to call he a LITTLE girl... emphasis on little. She was extremely shy. She would actually hide if someone outside the family came to the house so she would not have to say hello to them.

She too is alive and healthy.

Five more years passed and John Jay was born. One baby picture could be used for all of us except Johnny. He looked like Randy but like Randy was when Johnny was born.

Johnny was a great deal like Randy in personality. But he was the fussiest eater I ever saw. When he was in school he took his lunch. It consisted of one lettuce leaf between two slices of bread.

Johnny had a heart attack when he was in his forties. He has always taken good care of himself so he recovered quickly. Thank goodness his son and son-in-law were with him at the time. He has had a couple of procedures to correct problems relating to his heart.

Other than that he is alive and healthy.

My mother lost 6 babies early in pregnancy. There would have been 13 of us! Gloriosky, Sandy!

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to be continued..........

16 comments:

  1. Oh it is all so good to read of you and your siblings! So, you are the oldest? The oldest in our family is called Sarge at work, the oldest learns early how to take charge!

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    1. In larger families like mine the oldest has to take charge. Mom was busy with babies so the kids had to help. As the oldest I maybe took more responsibility than the others just because I was older.

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  2. I love reading of your family. Aren't we all such interesting personalities.

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    1. Yes we are. Even though each family is different and yet the same the family stories are fun to read.

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  3. Wow a very busy mother. There would have been three of us, but I am the only one left. My brother in a car crash aged 21 and the other other an unborn baby boy:-) Keep well Diane

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    1. Mom was busy. I remember her teasingly being upset because I did not have morning sickness when I was pregnant. Then my babies all slept through the night from the beginning. She complained that she had not slept through the night for 18 years.

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  4. There were 5 of us. I have a brother and sister older and a brother and sister younger. My brothers are both dead now. One died at 33 and the other at 45.

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    1. I am sorry for the loss of your brothers. It is hard to deal with the death of parents but in many ways harder about siblings.

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  5. You had a very big family, Emma- how interesting to read that the children were so different in personality! To give birth to 13 babies must have been very tough for your mother, and losing 6 would each time be a heartbreak. How good for her that you 7 were all there!

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    1. We were there and such a handful. At times my parents must have wanted to throw in the towel on the lot of us.

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  6. wow this sounds more like few of my aunts who lived back in native village and had 13 or 15 children !

    here one of my sister in law has 11 kids and she looks so young

    i could have not do this with my since always poor health conditions though i loved to have large family.
    i am happy dear Emma that some of your siblings are still with you and healthily living

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    1. A large family is a blessing. So is a smaller family. As long as we care for each other that is all that matters.

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  7. While I always enjoy reading ths posts about your family, Emma, this one was especially interesting to hear the names of your siblings and to learn a bit of their personalities as chuldren. My family was very small with only myself and my 3 years younger brother. I learned many years later that my mother had also miscarried.

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    1. I intend to make you all ready to scream about my family. There are a lot of us and a lot of stories to tell.

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