30 Day Blog Challenge (Day 4)

My Parents

Mi madre y me padre... what can I say? I will tell you what I know of them; that is how I viewed them as a child and how I view them now.

Daddy: As a kid I always knew my dad loved me, although I don't know how I knew it other than my mother telling me he loved me. My dad lived very close to me most of my childhood but I rarely saw him. There were no birthday or holiday phone calls or gifts, he never saw a basketball game or a school performance of any kind. When I was in middle school my dad moved to Texas and I got to visit him for a few summers, but our contact was pretty much limited to that time together. I'm not trying to pull at any heart strings here. It was just the way life was. My dad loved me. I loved my dad.

As an adult I can look back on my childhood and realize that I probably did not see my dad much because he was lost in his addiction; when he moved to Texas he was sober and finally able to give me some of the attention and show me some of the love he felt for me. Dad moving to Texas also gave me the opportunity to meet the family (aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, cousins and grandmother) that have given me so many memories, which I hold close to my heart today.

Daddy passed away when I was 17. What I remember of him most is his personality. I do believe my dad was a love him or hate him kinda guy. He was funny, obnoxious and never wasted an opportunity to pull a good prank. My dad was not P.C. and frankly, he didn't give a damn My dad loved his family and his family loved him, even though he could piss you off in an instant! My dad had a million dogs (not literally), he used to breed them and sell them (I promise he was not cruel to his animals) and he loved them like they were people. Some of my favorite memories of my teen years were hanging with dad and the dogs; he even got me a goat one summer because I wanted to "take care of something". I got to bottle feed him and this goat was my buddy. (This is me, Pedro the goat and Cindy & Sally the Rat Terrier puppies. The only sweeter than the animals is my haircut. Can I get a wut-wut!).

I miss my daddy. I'm mostly sorry that he never got to know DJ or his other granddaughters and grandsons.

Momma: My mother was a single mother part of my life, but no matter whether she was single or married she was usually the bread winner and always the rock of our family. My mother is funny, witty and kind of a smart ass (kind of? HA!). She is where I got my sense of humor and my work ethic. My mother always made sure we had everything we needed and she tried hard to get us some of what we wanted. Looking back I would say that we were low income (or poor as they used to say) but I never felt like we were. We always had good food in our bellies, clothes on our backs a warm, safe place to sleep at night.

My mother was very strict; we didn't talk back, we did chores and followed the rules (as far as she knew anyway) and would think twice before doing something that would embarass her. My mother was also very loving. I never doubted my mothers love for me, I could feel it. When I was younger I used to think my mom was making fun of me or making jokes at my expense but I can honestly say, now that I am the mother of a pre-teen, she was probably laughing so she didn't knock me on my a**. (Remind me to thank her for that).

My mother had a difficult childhood, from what I understand, and in hind sight I can see that she did everything she could in order to do more for us than she had done for her. I am 37-years-old and my mother continues to give to me and brother. Everyday my mother gives in one way or another.

I want to stress one last time that I never, EVER felt like we went without the basic necessities. I also want to say that the most loving thing my mother ever did for me was to tell me how much she AND my dad loved me. Whatever transpired between my mom and dad, she always built him up to me. I can honestly say she never said an ill word about him, and that has continued to this day.

I love you Mommy & Daddy!