The Simple LIfe: It all started with a baby book

At my age, it’s not as if I want to call attention to the fact that I’m one year older. But, I thought I would write a little bit today about some of the significant things of my life since that April day 64 years ago.

My parents married in Martinsburg, West Virginia, in June 1957, and just 10 months later, I was born. Of course, I don’t remember the earliest months of my life, but photos from those days tell a lot about my early story.

I’ve seen lots of pictures of me on my rocking horse, photos with me sitting on my dad’s lap, and pictures of me with my duck Doodles and my golden retriever Goldie. In fact, I spent several hours yesterday trying to find my baby book that my mom had kept meticulously for the first five years of my life, but no luck. I had hoped to be able to find a picture to go along with this column with me and my dog or me with my beautiful duck.

We lived in Richmond, Virginia, and my baby brother Ricky was not born until two years later. I’m sure we were a happy little family of four, with a slew of animals who lived with us, as well. Unfortunately, though, my duck was no longer a part of the family as Goldie took care of that one very sad day. Throughout the years, my mom and I would talk about Doodles and how she laid an egg for me quite regularly for breakfast.

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to take pictures of just the everyday, simple life. If it weren’t for those photos to remind myself of the good life I had, Doodles and Goldie would be nothing but imagination.

In this baby book, there are many pictures of relatives I don’t remember. There are so many memories of things that my mom documented - things like me having colic, having to wash my hands because I didn’t like to get dirty, and how I loved to play outside in the grass. I am forever grateful that my mom took so much time to take note of my baby girl life.

You know what? I bet that I have read through this baby book over 100 times in my lifetime! To know I was loved and cherished and that every little milestone was important - that is priceless.

I’m not sure in today’s world that the majority of new parents have time to document the first smile, the first giggle, the first time the baby rolls over, or the first time that the baby says Mum Mum or Dada. We may remember those moments, but how many of us document and keep all kinds of tokens of love in a baby book?

Over the next six years, my sisters Jenny and Debbie were born, and soon a brand new house was being built in Westernport for our growing family. I can’t speak for my sisters, but I was so excited for this house to get completed because I was going to have my very own bedroom. Plus, we would all get to ride the bus to elementary school! That part was short-lived, however, because that fall, I would be going to high school and I had to walk for the next six years. No more bus for me.

Our lives in our new home consisted of not only a family of six, but there was a dog named Rusty - who was a street urchin in need of adoption. Mom and Dad kept saying no, we could not keep the dog, but with our pleas and promises to take her for walks, they relented. Our home also included many cats and kittens through the years, with favorites named Prissy, Dinky, Cricket, Frisky, Snowball, Sam, and Jammi.

Back in those days, it was not a common practice to have your cats spayed or neutered. Prissy was the mama cat of residence, and she produced a litter of the most beautiful kittens one, and sometimes twice per year. I was the designated caretaker of all the baby cats, and this was a role I gladly took upon myself. Prissy’s babies spent a lot of time in my bedroom, and I named each and every one.

As wonderful as it was to be a surrogate mommy for eight weeks every time Prissy had a litter of kittens, there was always the day of horrible sadness when my dad would take all of the babies. Dad told all of us that he was taking the kittens to a Mr. Twyman in Piedmont, but I always found this hard to believe. It was many, many years later that the truth revealed itself.

My life has been full of so many good things, sprinkled with some things that weren’t so good - things that were heart-wrenching, hurtful, unexpected. Not so different from your life, right? We all experience many different things - things that range from the darkest of days to the most magnificent moments. All of these events mold us into the human beings we are today.

So, how have you fared? Have you been able to overcome and learn from those examples? I have, but the journey has been difficult. The hills I have climbed, the steps I have taken - and continue to take - have brought me to a really good place. What an epiphany to realize you CAN love again, and be valued for your mind, your compassion and your humanity. Anything is possible. I have seen it with my own eyes!

I have not overcome by myself, however. It is only by the grace of God. It is freely given, and living a prayerful life brings bountiful blessings. All you have to do is see the blessings right in front of you - even if they are hard to see.

And, to think it all started with love - love evidenced in the pages of a pretty little baby book. That is something I will treasure always.

God’s blessings, one and all.

This article originally appeared on Mineral Daily News-Tribune: The Simple LIfe: It all started with a baby book