L is for...Living and Loving My Life

Childhood…Growing up in the house I did was difficult to say the least. Children were expected to be seen and not heard, to look neat and tidy, and to behave at all times. My parents loved me; they were just unprepared and inexperienced at being in charge of wee ones. My brother and I are about a year and four months apart, me being the youngest. My brother was the typical big brother in that he liked to play tricks on me, like with the bees I wrote about here . All in all I had a good childhood, my parents loved me, they provided for me nicely, and I felt relatively safe.


Teen years…As a teenager I felt alone, and misunderstood. My father and I did not get along at all, and I did not make it easy on him. If a day went by and I was not getting lectured, my dad was probably on the road. He was a truck driver some of the time and a pastor at other times. We were members of mostly conservative Baptist Churches and when I say conservative, I do mean conservative. For example girls did not wear pants, or makeup, and men wore buttoned shirts with ties. I absolutely hated living with all the rules I felt were forced upon me. Most of the rules were unspoken but completely understood by me to be real. Like, don’t voice your opinion, and do as you’re told but not what you see being done. Living wasn’t enjoyable for me as a teenager would be putting it mildly.

Adult years…After I got married and started to settle down, life got a little easier. I learned to make my own decisions and started getting more into my relationship with God. Four children and 17 years later I am starting to get comfortable in my own skin and with my experiences. Having cancer changed me a lot. I now look at life as something to be enjoyed, and cherished, not just observed. It is enjoyable for me to just sit back and breathe in this life I am living and loving right now.


Head on over to tossing it out and check out some other blogs in this fantastic challenge. May God bless and keep you and may His face shine upon you today and beyond.