I'm going to try to start with pleasant memories again. Papaw (Minnie's husband) bought me a snow globe with Minnie Mouse in it. On the outside it said "Have a Happy!" Have a happy what? Birthday? Holiday? Afternoon? Life? That phrase has always stuck with me for some reason.
So, let's have a happy, shall we?
Some of my very earliest memories involve Papaw (still Minnie's husband). When I was very little we lived in a massive house on Cox Street. Papaw and I split the attic area between ourselves-he got his workshop for his carpentry, I got a play area. I had a little kitchen set up with the Fisher Price/Little Tykes stove, sink, refrigerator, and accessories. It took me a while to learn that these were not real appliances. I remember filling the little sink with water and doing dishes, then removing the stopper. I was absolutely shocked when the water came flowing out of the "cabinet" beneath the sink. I had never realized that it was all pretend.
I always stayed near Papaw if possible. When we moved and his workshop was in the walkout basement, I'd frequently be in the yard nearby. If I was in the house he and I were communicating using the vent in the hallway-the duct ran straight down to the basement. Every single memory I have of Papaw leaves me smiling. He was wonderful.
I remember when Mom and Dad got remarried. I have a photo someone, but it's only of me and my friends. I was very angry that day because while Mom had two daughters they were relegated to the roles of bridesmaid and flower girl only. It still bothered me that I wasn't her maid of honor. I know I was young and all that but I'm a very traditional person. I also remember the fit Dad threw when he found the shaving cream on his dually.
The person that filled the role of maid of honor for Mom was actually her best friend from high school. Even now we're in contact with her and her three children-they're like extra siblings to me. We actually all lived together for a while. I was there for a portion of fifth grade, in a small house in Lenoir City. Me, my sister, and Caitlyn shared a room, the twins, Jacob, and Gavin shared a room, then their parents had a room and my parents slept wherever. I actually enjoyed my time there-I was starting to make friends and started noticing boys-and sometimes I was getting noticed in return.
The rest of what I wanted off my chest is not so pretty. For example, there was the time my brother came over completely covered in bruises-his face, his back, his legs..COVERED. Minnie asked him what was wrong and he lied for Dad, said he was in a bike accident. Granted, our sister broke her arm learning to ride her bike without her training wheels so we were aware it wasn't pretty. But with this incident it was worse, and honestly the worst shape my brother had been in after a beating. He never did tell me why he got beaten that time, but I remember him being particularly bent out of shape about it.
I hated to see my brother going through this. He was very sensitive, a very sweet and caring boy, and it was so hard to watch him suffer. He got beaten for peeing the bed, for talking when he wasn't supposed to (and he was *never* supposed to), or for breaking things. The episode that sticks out at me is when he was chasing me around the room with a booger. Of course I ran from him, it was gross-but then he bumped up against the wall and knocked down the mirror that had been hanging there. Bear in mind this was a cheap mirror from a thrift store, obviously not worth anything to my parents as it was hanging in the boys' room, but Dad flew into a rage. He was beaten severely again that night. He took the brunt of Dad's physical anger. I never fully understood why, maybe because my brother showed the "weaker" traits that Dad worked so hard to squash.
That's as much as I'm writing tonight. My current work schedule just leaves me exhausted.
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