Growing up ...

I grew up in Spokane, Washington ... I spent my childhood there.  Going through Elementary and Junior High School there until I, or we moved to Clarkston, Washington.   Let's just say that it is the "armpit" of the State.  Growing up in Spokane was very nice.  I am the oldest of three kids, and the only boy mom had.  Mom was, or has been married four times, on her fourth husband now.  I love my Mom, and you might say I am a "momma's boy".  Looking back now, I know she did the best she knew how and actually, she did an amazing job.  My parents very young when they had me and my sister, and then they divorced and my mom moved onto her second husband, had another and last child, another sister for me.  I am close or never have been close to my half sister ... I can't tell you why either, it just never culminated into a relationship that my full sister and I have today and always have had, I mean, I am not going to tell you we had a "blissful" relationship, her and I, but we were very young and as brother's can be, let's just say, I was always teasing, fighting with her.  Poor thing, I remember one day after school, in elementary, I came home and she had to get glasses, and oh brother, I started to poke fun at her, well, wrong thing, she started crying and ran to her bedroom and did not come out for awhile.  Now it has come full circle and I am going blind ... (not really).

I want to expand a little on my step father, my mom's second husband.  He was a very good man, and treated my sister and I like we were his very own children.  Then he had his own child with my mom and we were so excited to have another baby sister or brother, well I was hoping for a boy.  Needless to say, it was a girl.  We had a lot of fun with her when we were little.  She used to do this hilarious laugh and she would get her face all crinkled up and start snorting so hard, I could not stop laughing myself!  I would like to say that our time when mom was married to him, was very happy.  We never went without, our holidays were so much fun, they got us so many presents, we believed in Santa for longest time.  Those days were just amazing!  I miss them so much, all the laughter, family events, all my uncles and summertime ... we had pool growing up, so it was a lot of fun during the summer time.  Mom, still being in her 20's, would always have parties on Saturday nights in our backyard by the pool.  I remember watching her get ready and put her makeup on, I would sit on edge of the bathtub and just be so in awww with my mom's beauty.  She was always very cheerful, full of energy and just had a heart of gold, she still does, but I remember always helping out her brother's in time of need or if they needed a place to stay.  Ohhh, my uncle's, well, they were always having fun with me, and I mean, they thought it was fun LOL ... I remember one weekend when my mom's youngest brother grabbed me, fully dressed and through me into the pool.  Mom was soooooo mad because she had just bought me brand new tennis shoes. Other times, all three of them would pin me down, tickle me until I wet myself and they just got a huge kick out all of it.  I look back at all that now, and, ok, I do miss all of it, not wetting myself of course from laughing so hard and not being able to move, but the relationship I had with my uncle's, they loved me and was always doing things with us, my sisters and I.