tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49237923818903767312024-02-20T22:16:54.606-05:00It's time to tell my storyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-31761745660137644682019-09-27T00:00:00.000-04:002019-09-27T00:00:10.153-04:00Making Bubbles with Gum<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">How did you learn to blow bubbles with gum? Me, well it was not the traditional way or at least that is what my memories are telling me.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As I said in the previous post, we made the big move from eastern Pennsylvania to the Pittsburgh area. Where we lived was not on the bus line so it was difficult for us to get around. We would have to walk from one place to another.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I have this one memory that is like a ghost. I can barely see it in my mind's eye but I know it's there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We walked to the store to get something. Who knows what it was and I ended up with a piece of gum.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I decided I needed to blow a Well, Father was not going to teach me the appropriate way to blow a bubble.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My little impatient self was not going to wait on someone to really teach me if my Father was not going to teach me. So what did I do, I would stretch out the piece of gum manually and then put it up to my lips. Then I would blow on it. I don't know how effective that method really was for blowing a bubble.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It's just a memory that I can laugh about now that I'm older.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-27691872978514169632019-09-25T00:00:00.000-04:002019-09-25T00:00:05.745-04:00Our big move<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Around the age of 7, we moved once again. This time to the Pittsburgh area because we would have family living close to us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My mom had hoped my grandparents would be willing to help with driving us around because we didn't have a car.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That didn't happen. Where we ended up living was not on a bus line so we could only walk to places. With a 7-year-old and a 4 or 5-year-old, can you imagine how difficult getting around? Add a blind person to the mix and then you have a lot of issues with the lack of transportation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I just wish I could remember the name of the area of Pittsburgh we lived in at that time. I've mapped it out before and all I know is it was in the southern part.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A lot of my memories truly began during this time. I've blacked out a lot of the abuse. That's how my brain works. The actual memory is not there but the flight, freeze or fear aspects are still ingrained in my subconscious. Do I ever want to release the memories? No, let them stay there. I probably felt fear and terror during those times.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I'll be diving into those memories during the next few blog posts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Then we'll move to our final home in the Pittsburgh area. A place that still reminds me of the horrors I endured during the few years we lived there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-1334733095483951432019-09-23T18:11:00.000-04:002019-09-23T18:13:01.940-04:00The First Time I was in Foster Care<div class="separator" style="clear: both; direction: ltr;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">By the time I was five, we were living in Annville, PA which was in the same county as Hershey.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In 1980, I began kindergarten in the Annville-Cleona School District. My kindergarten teacher was Ms. Lemon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Since I was so young, I don't know much about that time in my life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I have the briefest of flashes of memories. Whether they are real memories or just made up of figments of my imagination, I'll never know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">For some reason, I have this vision of a movie theater in my mind. However, the first real movie I can recall seeing was E.T. so I don't know if my memory is a true memory or a combination of separate memories that formed a new one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I remember a boy named Wesley. It may have been the foster mother's son or it was another boy who was in foster care.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Then there was the chickenpox incident. From what I have been told, I had chickenpox while I was really young. However, I think I had it during the time I was in foster care.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My mom told me that even though they didn't have money during the time we were in foster care, she spent money to see John Denver in concert. She now regrets it because she should have been saving money.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghx5QY2xRyAkl-Ukt_r_6am-0NhyphenhyphenV7lyhoS3bcMYL1BHbqxmq7ToR_3MRKYqqKuk6wpk7I38DIUi-iojKsBq2HPJN-Gv91QX1CmVRw_ojS2dpONzm4NgPwNGKfBeGdtLo1wkV9CDcWACk/s1600/1506731403328-8cfbe759-c093-49c9-b1c8-b0ce066a8f1d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="662" data-original-width="441" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghx5QY2xRyAkl-Ukt_r_6am-0NhyphenhyphenV7lyhoS3bcMYL1BHbqxmq7ToR_3MRKYqqKuk6wpk7I38DIUi-iojKsBq2HPJN-Gv91QX1CmVRw_ojS2dpONzm4NgPwNGKfBeGdtLo1wkV9CDcWACk/s320/1506731403328-8cfbe759-c093-49c9-b1c8-b0ce066a8f1d.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tanya and I in foster care</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I don't know when we got out of foster care. Soon we were back in the hands of the man who caused me great pain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Our lives were going to be in turmoil once again. Join me next time as I continue this journey of telling my story.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-26018308587562725592018-03-25T14:19:00.001-04:002018-03-25T14:19:26.859-04:00Seminary . . .<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have rewind the hands of the clock to tell this story. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When I left off, I was 6 years old and my mom was making us white shirts with iron on letters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Today's story takes place when I was an only child so I must have been 1 or 2 years old.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mom and I went out to lunch today at a Mexican restaurant. I ordered Huevos Rancheros. When the plate was delivered to my table, they had included a slice of tomato with my order.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I did not eat the tomato because I have a love/ hate relationship with tomatoes. As I admitted this to my mom, she told me the story about when my father attended seminary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">That was brand new information because I never knew my father had attended seminary. She told me that she would drive him to seminary and luckily some people would allow her to come over so I could nap.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Afterwards she told me of our neighbors would grow vegetables. He would drop them off at the front door so we ate a lot of free produce. One of the veggies, he grew was tomatoes. She would make a lot of stewed tomatoes out of those tomatoes. Maybe I ate too many of those tomatoes when I was a child so now I do not like tomatoes that much.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Today I learned some new details about my childhood. I never knew my father had attended seminary.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-82928783640082000772017-12-30T16:53:00.000-05:002017-12-30T16:53:23.917-05:00Just say no to white shirts with ironed on letters<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sometimes you have to wonder what you were thinking when you look back to the outfits you wore so many years ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">While I was in Pittsburgh over Labor Day weekend, I found a photo of me wearing a shirt that made me say Why? Mine you I was only 6 in the photo so I had no choice in the attire I was wearing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">No, the why?!? was directed towards my mom. She had decided to make white t-shirts with iron letters. Each shirt had the family member's name on the shirt. The only one who avoided what I call the shirt incident was my cousin because she was only about 6 months when my mom made the shirts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So what was the reason for those shirts? We had a family reunion in Lancaster, Pennsylvania since my aunt who at that time lived in California was in Pennsylvania. My mom did not have much money so she created the shirts with the little bit of money she did have at that time. The style though screams early 1980s.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I can only remember going to Hershey Park while they were in town. During that reunion, I rode the Super Dooper Looper, my first roller coaster. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYXgs3fKdIEogcZy7gmsOc1Wk35Yxj9dtFecWMncQDolwGeCGjBef4h8YAjWJ41kPkHnfa_ZjYztvl-61vMtBWSETKnHoY02BFdLwFcd7-HGVU8-o1elYy8bPRD8S-C6ejIsLOlrQB0pA/s1600/IMAG3696.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYXgs3fKdIEogcZy7gmsOc1Wk35Yxj9dtFecWMncQDolwGeCGjBef4h8YAjWJ41kPkHnfa_ZjYztvl-61vMtBWSETKnHoY02BFdLwFcd7-HGVU8-o1elYy8bPRD8S-C6ejIsLOlrQB0pA/s400/IMAG3696.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That hair of mine - Did I take a weed wacker to it?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0PLUOKM_uKGfXNcu6dHEPLnhsCRl0_m_Hpknk5C1uLRa2YP3-mFm2RzMjdbflGTPWyg0p7gLmr5xS9NzApVK6eK4paQAaO8gz-mxLU6g1GjotaCAE6qcTIKflS-ehyphenhyphenaA2Eb1gta3Un1w/s1600/20170720103307_IMG_0185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0PLUOKM_uKGfXNcu6dHEPLnhsCRl0_m_Hpknk5C1uLRa2YP3-mFm2RzMjdbflGTPWyg0p7gLmr5xS9NzApVK6eK4paQAaO8gz-mxLU6g1GjotaCAE6qcTIKflS-ehyphenhyphenaA2Eb1gta3Un1w/s320/20170720103307_IMG_0185.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me this past July riding that roller coaster - I even helped a little girl conquer her fear of riding the ride.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Traci</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-29950416288486579972017-10-14T19:48:00.001-04:002017-10-14T19:48:03.615-04:00I'm Going to Continue My Story<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Life has gotten busy. In November, I'm going to finish the remainder of my Write 31 on this blog.</span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-16808093764961906432017-10-11T00:00:00.000-04:002017-10-11T00:00:07.394-04:00I went to the Poconos?!? / Manhole<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Today I'm going to share two stories. I only know bits and pieces of these stories. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Both involve one of mom's friends from college. Pete helped her out in the one of the stories. In the other story, Pete took her, my sister, and I on a trip.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the stories Mom has told me is about the time my father was at disability camp or training. I don't really know which one he was at.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anyway Pete decided to take us to the Poconos. So he came and picked us up and took us there for a guess a weekend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Father did not know we were going. The only person or people who knew were my Ohio grandparents. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I don't know what we did there. All I can do is tell people that I have been to the Poconos.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The other story Mom has told me is about my father walking around without his cane. The town we lived in was doing construction and had manhole open. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Father was suppose to use a cane when he was walking around. However he decided not to use the cane.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Open manhole, blind man without a cane - What do you think happened? Yep, he fell in the manhole and broke his leg.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Pete came up from Virginia to help because Mom had to deal with two toddlers and a man child with a broken leg.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Until next time,<br />Traci</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-91353982565818713712017-10-10T00:00:00.000-04:002017-10-10T00:00:05.909-04:00The Bicycle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is another fragmented story. I have pictures in my mind. However it is like a jigsaw. The pieces must fit together but how is unknown.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We lived in Bunker Hill close to Jonestown in a house while I was a toddler. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have this photo in my mind of a tricycle or bicycle. Knowing what age I would have been, it probably was a tricycle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We had been out and about for the day. Or maybe we were taking a walk. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had decided I didn't want to ride the bicycle anymore.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My father got so angry that he decided was going to sit on it and try to peddle it. (He was a big man. - 6 foot tall and at least 200 pounds)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I don't think the tricycle was broken.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I sort of remember a car but I don't know how it relates to the story. I don't think my mom drove. She may have until a certain point. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So weird of a memory. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It just shows you how his anger took over.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Traci</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-52017592513451396012017-10-09T00:00:00.000-04:002017-10-09T00:00:12.077-04:00And So It Began . . .<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCumIkGZU-ucQkGFcbsAmMvTRsVpDyhx7s0Pj44nHQby6F0sSKvB17OTdeIBBm5axelIFWVMrf-BOfPercE0FcGSzsFUBAmRA4rIyor7JGuvTTOTuEr4PRvyE-p2Ph3I-Tkgho6g-0f8/s1600/Telling+My+Story.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCumIkGZU-ucQkGFcbsAmMvTRsVpDyhx7s0Pj44nHQby6F0sSKvB17OTdeIBBm5axelIFWVMrf-BOfPercE0FcGSzsFUBAmRA4rIyor7JGuvTTOTuEr4PRvyE-p2Ph3I-Tkgho6g-0f8/s320/Telling+My+Story.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Since I was so young, I can't remember when the actual abuse began. All I know is that it was somewhere between the ages of 3 and 5.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I spent the summer of being 3 with my grandparents in Ohio. I don't remember much about the trip. I</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">'ve seen photos though. In those photos, I was a joyful child. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6MbjQzT9N7A4akDDYhHtQ5R9YwTQk5gjvWB3Rz9m-mdyEcfEU-ZUsZP-kSqZAdGXgIk3fREzmtm8AGOygHgy8SuNZGake3Pde1uqCGelUF8zuQkqtHaA9bqWk8gX4WvLMIQYKcVwGDiE/s1600/308303_4663571870721_113554567_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="480" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6MbjQzT9N7A4akDDYhHtQ5R9YwTQk5gjvWB3Rz9m-mdyEcfEU-ZUsZP-kSqZAdGXgIk3fREzmtm8AGOygHgy8SuNZGake3Pde1uqCGelUF8zuQkqtHaA9bqWk8gX4WvLMIQYKcVwGDiE/s320/308303_4663571870721_113554567_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My grandpa, my great uncle, and myself at about 3 years old</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then it was back to Pennsylvania. From what I've been told, my father lost his job. His anger took over. My stubborn but joyful self was an obstacle he did not like.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It may have been because I had been naughty. It was the norm for children to be spanked in the late 70's and early 80's. Okay not the norm but it was common.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Instead of a switch, he used his belt on my butt. However since he could not see, he ended up hitting my lower back. I was left with bruises. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">To this day, I don't like people to smack my butt. It bothers me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have back issues. I don't know if it was because of him smacking me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Traci</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-45003739357258685862017-10-08T00:00:00.000-04:002017-10-08T00:00:05.943-04:00Boxes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCumIkGZU-ucQkGFcbsAmMvTRsVpDyhx7s0Pj44nHQby6F0sSKvB17OTdeIBBm5axelIFWVMrf-BOfPercE0FcGSzsFUBAmRA4rIyor7JGuvTTOTuEr4PRvyE-p2Ph3I-Tkgho6g-0f8/s1600/Telling+My+Story.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCumIkGZU-ucQkGFcbsAmMvTRsVpDyhx7s0Pj44nHQby6F0sSKvB17OTdeIBBm5axelIFWVMrf-BOfPercE0FcGSzsFUBAmRA4rIyor7JGuvTTOTuEr4PRvyE-p2Ph3I-Tkgho6g-0f8/s320/Telling+My+Story.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tomorrow I'll begin telling stories of my childhood. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A lot of these stories are stories that I've heard or fragmented memories.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I describe those memories as "Boxes."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A few weeks before my sister died, I went to a Goo Goo Dolls concert. At some point after that concert, I got their newest album. There was one song on the album called "Boxes."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"We'll have tiny boxes for memories</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Open them up and we'll set them free</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There'll be bad days and some hard times</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But I'll keep your secrets, if you keep mine."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">During the first weeks of mourning, I would play this song over and over and just cry. </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/D6eItTQ6G-U/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D6eItTQ6G-U?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I can't remember all the memories from my childhood. Some of the reason is because of my age. It's also because my mind closed off some of those bad memories. Although I can't remember all of what happened, there are a few memories from when I was nine that haunt my mind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">During the next blog posts, we are going to open up some of those boxes of memories. It's going to be a tough read.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Please be gentle when you read those blog posts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Traci</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-46568318463516072342017-10-07T00:00:00.000-04:002017-10-07T09:48:55.657-04:00I'm no longer an only child<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCumIkGZU-ucQkGFcbsAmMvTRsVpDyhx7s0Pj44nHQby6F0sSKvB17OTdeIBBm5axelIFWVMrf-BOfPercE0FcGSzsFUBAmRA4rIyor7JGuvTTOTuEr4PRvyE-p2Ph3I-Tkgho6g-0f8/s1600/Telling+My+Story.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCumIkGZU-ucQkGFcbsAmMvTRsVpDyhx7s0Pj44nHQby6F0sSKvB17OTdeIBBm5axelIFWVMrf-BOfPercE0FcGSzsFUBAmRA4rIyor7JGuvTTOTuEr4PRvyE-p2Ph3I-Tkgho6g-0f8/s320/Telling+My+Story.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On a Sunday afternoon in September 1977, my life changed FOREVER. My sister was born. I was no longer an only child. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are so many holes in the story of her birth. The biggest hole in the story is where was I while she was being born. I've decided that at 28 months old I helped bring her into the world. 🤣</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is what I know about her birth:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My mom went to church that morning. She did not realize she was in labor. Tanya was born on the toilet in a hotel room.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My paternal grandparents were visiting us. My paternal grandma called 911. There was an accident somewhere close by so the operator had to tell her how to aid in the birth.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My father had begun to walk home from the hotel. My paternal grandpa had to go find him to let him know that Tanya was about to be born.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've heard that Tanya was born early but I cannot confirm that.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here are some photos of Tanya as a baby.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWE1Wv2jWe92wX2GKbLGzm5DO57dd9Ns-PHc6WfZRYt0uyoHR4Ht2EcngLeBe88VGGlBRj-z5CERRuR8_WEU9Ix1Wocs7wuSsILiXF9peovjuIGw7UG71RGt4zN2av_nw1eisqstS2It8/s1600/1506730807143-c41e95ca-f552-41a1-b3ee-c64494bb3686.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWE1Wv2jWe92wX2GKbLGzm5DO57dd9Ns-PHc6WfZRYt0uyoHR4Ht2EcngLeBe88VGGlBRj-z5CERRuR8_WEU9Ix1Wocs7wuSsILiXF9peovjuIGw7UG71RGt4zN2av_nw1eisqstS2It8/s320/1506730807143-c41e95ca-f552-41a1-b3ee-c64494bb3686.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIT1OjC6qAaEtdK7gA-gf8dBeSTdhvXTGNyjpY1aBzGuXnS0xy_pJLQ1ngLoEMBhooocLhfO39pHZLh8u0_CS5FVxjS_ArhVPLVJhOIP4KjUO8GWFogSC5uWtSl32ryeKQtjjk_3Ni6c/s1600/1506730891466-b0013c09-1314-46eb-aeb0-dd248c9177af.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIT1OjC6qAaEtdK7gA-gf8dBeSTdhvXTGNyjpY1aBzGuXnS0xy_pJLQ1ngLoEMBhooocLhfO39pHZLh8u0_CS5FVxjS_ArhVPLVJhOIP4KjUO8GWFogSC5uWtSl32ryeKQtjjk_3Ni6c/s320/1506730891466-b0013c09-1314-46eb-aeb0-dd248c9177af.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbOU7VrZc4MltWVltpvIBuGNjo_qIVWKzMM84nTv2pSHdhks21IEnAI-8yTCg9QchNTyidSaTGJkvBy8LB_th9KnnZFoDhH9JSdRZrLmmbcaLlu55NTwiTViDHiL4dinGfEhbiEVjHQA/s1600/1506730933473-a42d2722-ecc2-4aff-86e5-8e195477c324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbOU7VrZc4MltWVltpvIBuGNjo_qIVWKzMM84nTv2pSHdhks21IEnAI-8yTCg9QchNTyidSaTGJkvBy8LB_th9KnnZFoDhH9JSdRZrLmmbcaLlu55NTwiTViDHiL4dinGfEhbiEVjHQA/s320/1506730933473-a42d2722-ecc2-4aff-86e5-8e195477c324.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ7tXkuGgcvNhLwXaTtc7OPBj2tVgCk-vDkFFFD5uMTrNrk5ShmyZaFTzlPGGu7f6QtIHLna6IePt0zVG_F0sLV5Goaaap3nAswLYObwOLysqaNPVOFh9cN6MiPgOQxgfJ9ZfiA7a0GNc/s1600/1506730999809-bf2208c1-07d2-4308-8a50-4841afbeb5fb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ7tXkuGgcvNhLwXaTtc7OPBj2tVgCk-vDkFFFD5uMTrNrk5ShmyZaFTzlPGGu7f6QtIHLna6IePt0zVG_F0sLV5Goaaap3nAswLYObwOLysqaNPVOFh9cN6MiPgOQxgfJ9ZfiA7a0GNc/s320/1506730999809-bf2208c1-07d2-4308-8a50-4841afbeb5fb.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7r90iAo_ZDfkTTM4ykGKXyxdKuWTVtFED5VNPXJ6NvG2cXOg8_gtnsNVccXPqEit6bhtTm1lTPUZFmlfnd3reqf03R2RKjh7PRbIq6m0AC6khhNiKvV1rlXdGpv59RLOMEPCdcYpxxR0/s1600/1506731179865-6afe527a-676c-42d0-b5d1-3dbab3341a8e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7r90iAo_ZDfkTTM4ykGKXyxdKuWTVtFED5VNPXJ6NvG2cXOg8_gtnsNVccXPqEit6bhtTm1lTPUZFmlfnd3reqf03R2RKjh7PRbIq6m0AC6khhNiKvV1rlXdGpv59RLOMEPCdcYpxxR0/s320/1506731179865-6afe527a-676c-42d0-b5d1-3dbab3341a8e.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On Monday, I'll start with the story of when my life changed for the worse.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Traci</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-41526453254455306862017-10-06T01:00:00.000-04:002017-10-06T09:44:34.399-04:00Baby / Toddler Photos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCumIkGZU-ucQkGFcbsAmMvTRsVpDyhx7s0Pj44nHQby6F0sSKvB17OTdeIBBm5axelIFWVMrf-BOfPercE0FcGSzsFUBAmRA4rIyor7JGuvTTOTuEr4PRvyE-p2Ph3I-Tkgho6g-0f8/s1600/Telling+My+Story.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCumIkGZU-ucQkGFcbsAmMvTRsVpDyhx7s0Pj44nHQby6F0sSKvB17OTdeIBBm5axelIFWVMrf-BOfPercE0FcGSzsFUBAmRA4rIyor7JGuvTTOTuEr4PRvyE-p2Ph3I-Tkgho6g-0f8/s320/Telling+My+Story.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My grandma had photo books in her living room behind one of her couches in front of the big picture window. I was not to touch those photo books. There was an unwritten rule about the touching of those books. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I knew how she felt about my father so that might have been why I was not to touch them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So what was in those photo books?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Photos of me when I was a baby. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was obsessed with those photo books of me. When she was gone for a long time, I would pull out those books and just look at the photos.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Maybe that's why I love photos and enjoy taking photos of my two boys. I did not have the luxury of looking at my photos while I was growing up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm going to share some of the photos of me from when I was a baby/ toddler before my sister was born.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Someone has told me that I was a cute baby.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4P2lmpVwns5vD404wL7J9Rm4v9xgLxYbTzfWJ-4wDB8z51PmGm_jUdsTFpuXrkpCfGWorcYvfhrdpIj9fBG_YYNaEG77_QEVC6Sg0qj6OJfPX2nFrcAN2UtFw0-FgrY7AuPIXvQdbsx8/s1600/12705342_10208957380635184_38294902483899981_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="666" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4P2lmpVwns5vD404wL7J9Rm4v9xgLxYbTzfWJ-4wDB8z51PmGm_jUdsTFpuXrkpCfGWorcYvfhrdpIj9fBG_YYNaEG77_QEVC6Sg0qj6OJfPX2nFrcAN2UtFw0-FgrY7AuPIXvQdbsx8/s320/12705342_10208957380635184_38294902483899981_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was a year old. My aunt was being installed as Worthy Advisor in her Rainbow Assembly. I was a year old in this photo.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFqsIi35lMaYkwZwig225E5Wi8LYklXk7lhSwbJM8MzhE9H_Cm00VAnB5_E-MI1jdRuGY1R_fVPiBaqbo-nG5W5e4qdaecpT88cULTaqfO6a_ZTN-NIT7nHQhdRbkXkijyuXbFQ0mfin4/s1600/1506733409480-60a3a027-78f1-4a94-ace9-7369419b31d8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="1145" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFqsIi35lMaYkwZwig225E5Wi8LYklXk7lhSwbJM8MzhE9H_Cm00VAnB5_E-MI1jdRuGY1R_fVPiBaqbo-nG5W5e4qdaecpT88cULTaqfO6a_ZTN-NIT7nHQhdRbkXkijyuXbFQ0mfin4/s320/1506733409480-60a3a027-78f1-4a94-ace9-7369419b31d8.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStAWB2qLLN5Y-qmi6dTuEh8KK6A7sr0B01utWKKhC8mKyWt3U2X19ukW577KBbsPB7JgcSlzs5knjMHl6o93Ysl07FINVUr1BsOE64T_RekZCW3qiZa7Hz-CNwE7UJZsLQ_CnJl8NCf4/s1600/1506798250951-d45b13c0-638f-417c-a6e3-9cf2ed023839.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="408" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStAWB2qLLN5Y-qmi6dTuEh8KK6A7sr0B01utWKKhC8mKyWt3U2X19ukW577KBbsPB7JgcSlzs5knjMHl6o93Ysl07FINVUr1BsOE64T_RekZCW3qiZa7Hz-CNwE7UJZsLQ_CnJl8NCf4/s320/1506798250951-d45b13c0-638f-417c-a6e3-9cf2ed023839.jpg" width="212" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ktjEu8E5a9-86R_obbcGsW_4JisPLx1Kk61pl5AxMV5jc6vJ3EFquYxlQ1H8zIrosDIuupBDzB-cYeqGvOC0mXAP8ajAOmXBwrvMtAogpQHyEmIGCRc2GRWv533X4e22opv5CRxmntw/s1600/1506733250303-b7dfaf17-66df-4c2e-8ab8-10f51cfb61fa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="905" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ktjEu8E5a9-86R_obbcGsW_4JisPLx1Kk61pl5AxMV5jc6vJ3EFquYxlQ1H8zIrosDIuupBDzB-cYeqGvOC0mXAP8ajAOmXBwrvMtAogpQHyEmIGCRc2GRWv533X4e22opv5CRxmntw/s320/1506733250303-b7dfaf17-66df-4c2e-8ab8-10f51cfb61fa.jpg" width="181" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Traci</span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-43579856446956310752017-10-05T00:00:00.000-04:002017-10-05T00:00:30.042-04:00The birth of Moi`<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCumIkGZU-ucQkGFcbsAmMvTRsVpDyhx7s0Pj44nHQby6F0sSKvB17OTdeIBBm5axelIFWVMrf-BOfPercE0FcGSzsFUBAmRA4rIyor7JGuvTTOTuEr4PRvyE-p2Ph3I-Tkgho6g-0f8/s1600/Telling+My+Story.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCumIkGZU-ucQkGFcbsAmMvTRsVpDyhx7s0Pj44nHQby6F0sSKvB17OTdeIBBm5axelIFWVMrf-BOfPercE0FcGSzsFUBAmRA4rIyor7JGuvTTOTuEr4PRvyE-p2Ph3I-Tkgho6g-0f8/s320/Telling+My+Story.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I born in May of 1975.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've got to backtrack though to my mother's seventh month of pregnancy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Her only living brother was killed in a work accident. She and I, in utero, traveled from eastern Pennsylvania to western Ohio via an airplane. Uncle Bob was buried on my grandma's 47th birthday. From what I've been told, it really tore my grandma up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My original due date was suppose to be in late April. I decided to be born 2 weeks later than expected.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here are some facts that I know about my birth.</span><br />
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<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was born in the same county of Hershey, PA hence my love of chocolate.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was a Thursday.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the nurses was scheduled off at 3 pm but decided to stay until I was born. I was born at 3:05.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Sunday after my birth was Mother's Day.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My father announced at the church that I had been born.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was baptized soon after my birth by my paternal grandpa.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If I was a boy, I would have been named Matthew.</span></li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdu83MX3tVkcymjdjZUcnDjwkSu_eHlDoRwN7VTxUe17gS26jF31sf_GZ_QFRo3s9BveWt6Ct3bPIcGf5Tl4ohJDmUzPuOaLh-nuXoXZYbGl15YX6NezZuzEUOH5YVQMEuY47kyljoeVk/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="480" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdu83MX3tVkcymjdjZUcnDjwkSu_eHlDoRwN7VTxUe17gS26jF31sf_GZ_QFRo3s9BveWt6Ct3bPIcGf5Tl4ohJDmUzPuOaLh-nuXoXZYbGl15YX6NezZuzEUOH5YVQMEuY47kyljoeVk/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXLmEEajjHsNkHYipHu0swtUpKhjixouecnIFCXMZJrAG0f_9-i4JOfDKRKHNtGcY5w_HaplWQnxU_RA3XHC0_h0G69n_jVz7JLLFRE90Jc2hUj-qyQsF9-17F43J-fY3IrCycgUfl-s/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="480" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXLmEEajjHsNkHYipHu0swtUpKhjixouecnIFCXMZJrAG0f_9-i4JOfDKRKHNtGcY5w_HaplWQnxU_RA3XHC0_h0G69n_jVz7JLLFRE90Jc2hUj-qyQsF9-17F43J-fY3IrCycgUfl-s/s320/6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8a9IkkV0o5tKS6R-78JmHGnRiHXC5N2Re_WAV6gZ6dDYIpciTsLL0Gj3a3-r3nJESfUvVXAG_IDHBupfpSP3DxzLo0dhReCwvCrzApAahU4bx5pmrxII8at70hw5_R9XUKXc66LRiSE/s1600/1506798164237-99cef2a6-8fd2-423e-b300-a52838cf9efa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8a9IkkV0o5tKS6R-78JmHGnRiHXC5N2Re_WAV6gZ6dDYIpciTsLL0Gj3a3-r3nJESfUvVXAG_IDHBupfpSP3DxzLo0dhReCwvCrzApAahU4bx5pmrxII8at70hw5_R9XUKXc66LRiSE/s320/1506798164237-99cef2a6-8fd2-423e-b300-a52838cf9efa.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tomorrow I'll share some more photos of me from when I was about a year old. Then the day after that I'll share my sister's birth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My life until I was about 3 years old was not too bad. We didn't have a lot of money but I was loved. Something changed when I was 3. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Traci</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-40063156748025882542017-10-04T00:00:00.000-04:002017-10-05T04:45:54.811-04:00Next Comes Marriage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After my mom left West Virginia Wesleyan, she moved back home. By the time she left school, she was engaged to my father. Once again when she was asked about the engagement, she does not remember how or when she got engaged.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">They got married in Clairton, PA which is just south of Pittsburgh. The church where they got married was the church my grandpa was serving in at that time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">She tells the story of how they were watching the parsonage during the winter before they were married. It was so cold outside and the furnace went out. The water in the toilet froze.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Their attendants in the wedding party was my two aunts and two other guys from the church. Mom doesn't even remember their names. She thinks one was the choir director.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For some reason there was two different rehearsals. My uncle had to step in for my aunt.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After getting married, they moved to the Harrisburg area. Father had a lunch counter in a department store. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mom has told me stories about being stuck in her third floor apartment when Harrisburg was flooded during Hurricane Agnes. I guess they were in the department store when the rain began. A British lady kept telling the angels in heaven to stop peeing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">They did not have a lot of money so she started eating Chef Boyadee straight out of the can.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">They also lived in Jonestown which is located in the same county as Hershey.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then almost 4 years after getting married, I was born.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The story will be continued tomorrow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Traci</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-56131844133027802052017-10-03T00:00:00.000-04:002017-10-03T00:00:03.002-04:00What about my mother?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Vicki was born in December 1948. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">She is the oldest of 3 kids. My uncle was born a year and a half later and then my aunt is 10 and a half years younger than her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In between my uncle and aunt's birth, my grandparents had a stillbirth - Gregory.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My mom describes the neighborhood she grew up in as idyllic. Her paternal grandma lived next door and her cousins were down the road.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My grandpa's siblings were close so all of the cousins grew up together. My grandma and her brother were also close. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When she was seven, I think, she was hit by a bus tire. It was an icy morning. Her school was one of the only schools in session. The bus driver hit her. She ended up breaking her leg and being in the hospital for a long time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Her family attended Concord United Methodist Church. In fact that is where my grandparents met. My sister and grandparents are buried in their cemetery.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As a child, she was part of a Girl Scouts' troop led by her doctor's wife. When they were in 8th grade, they went to Washington D.C. as their last big event before disbanding. Mom has such good memories of that trip.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">She graduated from high school in 1967. After high school, she went to West Virginia Wesleyan where she met my father.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">She attended the college for two years. During those two years, she met two of her best friends - Peter and Winston. They are still friends after knowing each other for 50 years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some of my stories about my life involve those two men.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This a brief synopsis about my mom's life growing up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Join me tomorrow so that I can share photos of my parent's wedding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Traci</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-28069399485152722372017-10-02T00:30:00.000-04:002017-10-02T13:09:29.667-04:00Meet My Father<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After my mom graduated from high school, she attended college at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, WV.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirA4UDt___q1nV2uPOyjmoIh4hxVPfsI8hmf52Xb9y2WxtH6k85QVwX1_BIyHIfYMuThCLBP0b6JdVbm8fP7pmV2_u3s80OBGDB_CWDaJIjPWcMz19eczWzHwYIdWh7CGc0PETAC-fBaE/s1600/1936546_1204478155540_4436412_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="379" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirA4UDt___q1nV2uPOyjmoIh4hxVPfsI8hmf52Xb9y2WxtH6k85QVwX1_BIyHIfYMuThCLBP0b6JdVbm8fP7pmV2_u3s80OBGDB_CWDaJIjPWcMz19eczWzHwYIdWh7CGc0PETAC-fBaE/s320/1936546_1204478155540_4436412_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Wesley Chapel at West Virginia Wesleyan College</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">While there, she met my father. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My mom does not know when they met or how they met. They were both in a sorority and a fraternity so maybe it was at a group function. Maybe it was at the dining hall. She has told me that I can make up the story of how they fell in love.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So who was my father?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Murray, my father, was the oldest of three children. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">He was born on Feb. 4, 1948.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of my aunts was 2 years younger than him. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My other aunt is 5.5 years younger than him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">He grew up around the Pittsburgh, PA area. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">His dad was an United Methodist minister and his mom was a stay at home mom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">He graduated from high school in 1966 and then began to attend school at West Virginia Wesleyan with a degree in psychology. He ended up graduating from college in 1971. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJIMIaSveBDj-pgu1bmw8sXIDNzcPPkaLOux6xLsTgK9vBxXnkKXMoaI-WrQ0026tHHegy1Bhw_0bOe8Q1_hyphenhyphen0Xtx1JzpN8dJ-O2k7MLHXFTJV-_Q0peoq4Vp0SzMloeDz1VFPNORu94g/s1600/Age+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="974" data-original-width="522" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJIMIaSveBDj-pgu1bmw8sXIDNzcPPkaLOux6xLsTgK9vBxXnkKXMoaI-WrQ0026tHHegy1Bhw_0bOe8Q1_hyphenhyphen0Xtx1JzpN8dJ-O2k7MLHXFTJV-_Q0peoq4Vp0SzMloeDz1VFPNORu94g/s320/Age+12.jpg" width="171" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">My father at about the age of 12</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then his life changed when the doctor's discovered a </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">tumor on his pituitary gland. He was a sophomore in college. He had been studying when all of the sudden he couldn't see. So a fraternity brother drove him back to the Pittsburgh area.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After his surgery to remove the tumor, he was left 75% blind.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Even before the tumor, he was an angry child. At least that is what one of my aunts has told me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">His anger continued through his adult life. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">He was also very child like from my mother's reports about him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I know very little about my father. I wish I did know more. Family history is important to me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My grandma, his mother, told us very little. We mostly heard about her 5 or so boyfriends prior to meeting my grandpa. My grandpa died in 1992 so I never got to talk to him about our family.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Join me tomorrow for the continuation of my story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Traci</span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923792381890376731.post-26745131468569209342017-10-01T06:41:00.000-04:002017-10-01T06:42:41.006-04:00Introduction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCumIkGZU-ucQkGFcbsAmMvTRsVpDyhx7s0Pj44nHQby6F0sSKvB17OTdeIBBm5axelIFWVMrf-BOfPercE0FcGSzsFUBAmRA4rIyor7JGuvTTOTuEr4PRvyE-p2Ph3I-Tkgho6g-0f8/s1600/Telling+My+Story.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCumIkGZU-ucQkGFcbsAmMvTRsVpDyhx7s0Pj44nHQby6F0sSKvB17OTdeIBBm5axelIFWVMrf-BOfPercE0FcGSzsFUBAmRA4rIyor7JGuvTTOTuEr4PRvyE-p2Ph3I-Tkgho6g-0f8/s320/Telling+My+Story.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My Write 31 2017 theme is going to be difficult for me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's going to put me in a vulnerable state.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Please be kind while you are reading the words of my life. The cross I've had to bear.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's finally time for me to share this cross.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Twenty years ago, I spoke about this cross at one of my college classes. The professor sat me down and asked me not to talk about it anymore because people don't know how to talk to me after finding about my cross that I carry. How do you talk to me? As a normal person because that is what I am. A normal person.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Last year, I asked Why?!? after my sister died suddenly. I think I figured out some of the answers to my question Why?!?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I believe God wants me to share my adversities and the fact that I overcome them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is me. I'm a survivor of childhood abuse. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Or as Mandisa says </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You're an overcomer</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: center;">Stay in the fight ‘til the final round</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">You're not going under</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">‘Cause God is holding you right now</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">You might be down for a moment</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">Feeling like it's hopeless</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">That's when He reminds You</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">That you're an overcomer</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center;" /><span style="text-align: center;">You're an overcomer"</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: center;">I had overcome the abuse.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: center;">Join me on this journey but be kind. Only kind words will be accepted. </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpTQZgZz46mmPrs0W20yCjzCbUnP3YjOkX7L_FaP62Bo0b61fY6D5mYcX7CCT9UksYpDUL2fKIvSdbGSAQEuUlX9ctvW7-w8hKpKr4PXLU7zHiOGqkT-yW3tA-q7IxHIadeAWKtRpnfY/s1600/20170923161315_IMG_1932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="974" data-original-width="1461" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpTQZgZz46mmPrs0W20yCjzCbUnP3YjOkX7L_FaP62Bo0b61fY6D5mYcX7CCT9UksYpDUL2fKIvSdbGSAQEuUlX9ctvW7-w8hKpKr4PXLU7zHiOGqkT-yW3tA-q7IxHIadeAWKtRpnfY/s320/20170923161315_IMG_1932.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is me!</span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2