1974 Farm Life
I am going to give you all a break and give you insight into what kind of person needs to journal. Let’s start at the beginning. As I go through the highlights, some good and some bad, I have finally been able to let go and release the bad from my life. Telling my story has helped me to move into a life that is loving of myself. I am worthy of greatness, love, happiness, and freedom from all that held me stuck for all those years.
To begin, I was adopted when I was four years old. I do have one memory of standing up in my crib and looking around a room. When I asked my oldest brother about it, he said “Yes, that was our apartment living room.” He was babysitting us kids while mom was out. Well, needless to say, Social Services came and took us away from our parents after being notified we were left alone. Dad was working road construction while mom was out partying is what I have been told. I don’t know because I was too young when we were put up for adoption.
The people who adopted us lived on a farm in Iowa. I was the first one to go live with them. My three older brothers came along later. My older sister went to Maine. My younger brother went to Michigan, and my younger sister went to eastern Iowa.
I remember the farm and I drive by it once in a while still. Memories of the farm start with the dog, Sport. He was a Collie and to me at that time was huge! I loved to lay on him, though. I remember the hogs and piglets, the milk cows, and the silo. Dad never let me go near the cows or hogs. I could go see the piglets, though.
Silo. Do you know what that is? Well, I had no idea but one day my brother closest to me in age and I decided to go exploring. Yep, you guessed it-we went inside. Getting down inside of it was easy but getting out of it was not easy for me. I was small and short. I couldn’t reach the ladder. That is when my brother went and got our dad. Needless to say, we were grounded and told to never go near that silo again. It was very dangerous. We listened and did as we were told. Today I can laugh about it, but silos are very dangerous. We have quite a few who have been killed, farmers and farmhands. That is sad and heartbreaking for the families.
One day dad came home with a huge turtle, but we were not allowed to go near it as it was not meant to be a pet. It was put into the machine shed and the door was kept shut. I remember they called it a snapping turtle, I had no idea what that was, but my brothers knew. One day, they thought it would be funny to shut me in the machine shed with it. When it saw me, it started coming toward me. Of course, I screamed and tried to open the door to get out but it was too heavy for me to slide. I heard the boys laughing and I started crying and yelling for my daddy but to no avail. So I looked around and ran to the baler. I climbed on top of it where the turtle couldn’t get me. After a while, I fell asleep and woke up to my dad saying my name. He carried me out of the shed and I never saw the turtle after that. What happened to the boys? I couldn’t tell you as I don’t remember. But I am sure they got in trouble.
Daddy drove the tractor in the spring and mommy would get in the pickup and take him lunch in the field. One day I rode with her and after daddy ate, he asked me if I wanted to go for a ride! I yelled “Yes!” and he gave me a ride to the far end of the field and back where mom was waiting. I was so excited to get back to tell my brothers that I got to ride with daddy on the tractor! They acted like they could care less, of course, so I knew this bothered them. At the same time, that ride was long, it was a hot day, and I was sleepy. So, I went and took my nap. I loved my nap times and never fought mommy when she would say it was nap time.
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If you like, why don’t you make an entry in your journal about your earliest memories?
Until next week…
