Sassafrass

The Real Deal: Mark and Pat

In my last blog entry I spoke about how important my friends are- I don't want to underestimate my parents- Now I am going to give a shout out to my parents, Mark and Pat-The REAL DEAL- As an adult I can look back at my childhood and understand my parents- Well, not fully understand them, but agree with how they lived life and raised their children in this nutty world- I am not a parent and don't choose to be one for a long time, if ever- But my parents did a fantastic job- Their encouragement through out my life has been exemplary- They figured out long ago that I was one who didn't want to be told what to do- I wanted to figure it out for myself- Learn the hard way- Go to the School of Hard Knocks- Tough Love- I am the middle child of five- I was probably the most unruly child of the bunch- As a child I often believed that I was adopted or was switched at birth because I didn't see eye to eye with my parents- But I should have realized that I was in the correct family, because everyone confused me with my sisters (Are you guys twins? You look identical) I even tried to run away from home once- I believe I was under the age of 9 because I was still wearing pajamas that had attached feet (the fuzzy blue jumpsuit kind) I remember putting on my winter coat and slipping my footed pajamas into my winter boots (ya winter, that is why it was an attempt and not a real run away) I decided I would walk the 6+ odd miles to my grandma's house and when I reached my grandma's, she would pour me a warm cup of hot chocolate and then proceed to call my parents and publicly scold them for not allowing me to have my way or whatever I was having a conniption about (I don't even remember?) I do remember only getting to the end of the driveway until I turned around and went back inside- My parents are the same age and while growing up I always believed that my husband had to be the same age as me- So I knew my childhood crush on Rick Springfield wasn't going to amount to anything long term- I have one brother John, who is the oldest and three sisters, Anne, Jennifer, & Gretchen- My sisters' Anne and Jennifer are very close in age to me- Anne is 11 months older and Jennifer is 13 months younger- I know what you're thinking- We won't make fun of Mark and Pat for not being able to keep their hands off each other- but my poor mother- It was like being pregnant for 3 straight years, 3 straight LONG years- My parents came from close knit families so I saw my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins often- Large family get togethers were common and very normal- My mother is now one of my best friends- She is funny or should I say you can easily make her laugh-My mother was the disciplinarian- If we knew we did something wrong or broke something, we knew what the "shitlist" entailed-God forbid she would ever find out- But I had 4 other accomplices to blame it on too- My mother just had to look at you a certain way and you could crap your pants- I haven't seen that look in many years (Thank God!) But I have been told I have inherited the Death Stare too- As a teenager I heard this comment multiple times "You have an attitude problem" "Watch your tone with me, Missy" There is definite proof that I was a little shit- I am embarrassed to share this next memory but it makes for a good story- Once, I remember smarting off to my mom, she slapped me across the face- I raised my hand to slap her back (purely a reaction) with one swift move she grabbed my hand and immediately slapped me again- Like she was one of those Hindu Gods with multiple arms- I didn't know what hit me- My father, being out numbered by all the women in our family, stayed out of everyone's way- He is a great gentle soul- I do remember pissing him off too- Once I remember sharing a bedroom with my sister Anne- It was bedtime and we must of been arguing about something dumb- I, being the supreme tattle tailer, went to my Dad- He was very fed up with hearing these two little girls arguing and he had no sympathy for whatever my sister supposedly did to me- He was walking me back to my bedroom and I was trying very hard to express how I felt victimized by my older (bully) sister- So I re-enacted it for him- With out him knowing what I would do next- I sucker punched him in the stomach- With the "Uuumff" of a gasp he made, I ran like a frighten bunny back to my room and hid under the covers- He didn't follow me (I hope it was the stomach it could have been lower, oops sorry)- My parents are still growing and exploring this nutty world (only they have slowed down a touch) Now they have help from their grandchildren (none of them are mine) Right now they have 5 grandkids: Nathan, Cooper, Nicholas, Boone, and Azalea (You never know when another one might show up) They love to garden, and puts around their yard- They love to get in the car and go on excursions- They love hanging out with their kids and especially if we're all together- They love LIFE-Growing up in a large family was special- My parents are very special! Y

posted by Ms SaraTee @ 8:39 AM