Growing Up: Childhood Lessons

I was born in October 1968. My father had been hoping for a son, but as soon as we met, he approved and decided to go ahead and take me home. 2 years later, my brother was born, and the family was complete. Actually, my mother had originally wanted a large family, seven children to be exact, but after having my brother and me...she said, "It is finished!" She loved to quote the Good Book. Still does!

Well, Mom may have said it was finished, but for her the work had just begun. She now had two children to raise and took her maternal duties very seriously. She was determined that my brother and I would have good manners. (For example, how to be polite to folks whether we actually liked them or not!) But most importantly, Mom wanted us to be well-rounded.

Being well-rounded required lessons: piano lessons, soccer lessons, band lessons, swimming lessons, art lessons, choir lessons, dance lessons, etc. To this day, my brother refuses to even consider running for public office because he is concerned that the news media might somehow discover that Mom briefly required him to take ballet lessons when he was in elementary school. He may have a point because childhood photos of him wearing 70's style gym shorts, knee-high tube socks, and black ballet shoes while trying his damnedest to demi-plié could thwart his chances for a political nomination.

Childhood lessons kept us busy, and for me...there were still some Sistren lessons to be learned.