I remember my 'Great-Grandparents' but not my grandparents. As a small child, I spent the summers living with my great grandparents farm home in Hart, Michigan. They taught me how to work, how to care for the animals, of the farm, and how to milk goats. They sold their large farm and purchase a smaller one, on the banks of the Hart River. There I learned how to fish, catch turtles, feed the chickens, gather the eggs, weed the garden and so much more. I remember one morning great grandma was up but great grandfather was not. I asked her "where's grandpa" and she said plainly "he went home to be with the Lord last night". Shortly after that summer, my five sister's, brother's and myself (being the oldest) were placed for adoption. We all began our new life, on a working farm. I remember people came to take my baby sister away, then shortly afterward others came to take my two younger brothers, leaving only the twin sister's and myself to carry the load of rememberances. Others came interested in my sister's but I said, "if you take them, you take me" and they didn't take them. Still others came to adopt me and I repeated my desire to be together. Finally our 'new' family adopted all three of us together. Though i was happy to have a new family and a new home, I still carried the baggage of my baby sister and 2 younger brothers being off somewhere else in the the world. My new parents being 'strict Dutch' weren't quick to show love physically, they showed it in other ways. Because of my hardships, it took a long, long time to be comfortable w/o my other brother's and baby sister. Many years later I did find one of my two younger brothers but learned the other younger brother had passed away when he was in his 'teens. Many year beyond that time I found my baby sister and tried to renew our relationship but it was difficult being that she didn't remember me. Despite having a new family and having found most of my brothers and sister, life was difficult for me. Early on, in the mid-60's like most other young men my age, I received a draft notice in the mail for the U.S. Army. So my foster father and I went to the enlistment office and I signed up for a 4 year tour. Even my military time, in the first year was difficult, in that the army didn't feel that giving me my enlistment choice was necessary. After basic I went through NCO school rather than officer's training. Then I was shoved in air-borne training and that wasn't one of my choices either. The army then put me in Military Police Training School, with all the training that required. Finally I was sent to dog training school to train dogs for 'point-quard' in Vietnam
Seems, as though, I've heard the bad more than any good I might have done according to their views of our lives as they grew up! Well I wasn't always a Christian with a personal relationship with Jesus like now but I did what I knew how to do & did the best I could under many circumstances, good & bad! At times, life has many thorns as well as Roses in it! Either way, I guess I will be remembered for a while until one or two generations pass on! Ma
God Bless you & honey Bun! Ma
