Childhood Memories

            As a little girl, I lived with my father who was gainfully employed as a truck driver.  Often times we had dinner at the local Elbys restaurant and we sat at the high top area where my dad would flirt with the waitresses. I hate to say it, but I am pretty sure that I was my dad’s chick magnet.  I never really had a female influence in my life to show me how to style my hair, how to dress or to explain to me the “changes” that girls go through. It certainly was not easy.  I was teased a lot in elementary school and was labeled as a tomboy by most of my classmates. My dad would attempt to buy me dolls or what he thought were girly things, but he never really did get it right. Up until the fourth grade my dad remained technically single until the day he met my stepmother. I remember that day quite vividly because I was at the hospital getting my tonsils removed and she had been my nurse. She was super nice to me and had even let me take my new stuffed animal with me back to the operating room, since it was the day after my birthday and I was determined not to leave any of my new toys behind. Shortly after I had recovered from my surgery I began to see more of the nice nurse that had taken care of me that day. She would come over to our house after work to fix us dinner and I remember after my bath I would beg her to brush my hair and braid it since my dad was so terrible at it. Not too long after that she officially became my stepmother on June 4, 1987. I remember it fondly because it was also my dad’s birthday. She had picked out this beautiful purple dress for me to wear and had a friend of hers curl my hair in little ringlets. It really became a defining moment for me as a little girl. I was so proud of how I looked and I could not wait to take a picture to school to show all the kids that had always made fun of the way I looked and dressed. I know that my dad tried so hard to raise me the way he thought he should and I will certainly never ever hold it against him. However, the best thing that ever came into our lives was a woman who knew how to be a lady.