My Journey Begins......Part three

After my father died, 

Mom sat us down and said we were going to take a road trip.

We were going to travel around till we found a place to live.

Mom could not stand to stay where there were memories, and the docs told her she needed

to leave the damp Washington air.

So we headed out.

School was out, and we had all summer.

We stopped and visited a few family members along the way.

As kids we had not clue, but now I know,

Mom had a destination in mind.

She slowly worked our way to Milton Freewater Oregon.

There we settled and I finished high school.

Growing up with a dad was difficult.

Kids in school were cruel.

We did not have a TV so I read a lot of books.

Life settled into a routine.

Mom got a Social Security check for each of us kids 

which was 65.00 each.

Then she got one for 95.00.

Mom raised us on 290.00 per month!

This paid rent and utilities, food and gas.

I don't know how she did it, but she did.

She tried to make our life normal and for the most part it was.

I do not regret ANYTHING in my life.

Mom did the best she could by herself.

The food staple in our house was:

A loaf of bread.

A jar of Peanut butter.

A jar of Miracle Whip.

We lived on Peanut Butter and Mayo Sandwiches!

Whenever my grandparents came to visit though

we had wonderful meals!

Mom would take every dime she had saved and stock the shelves.
She was not about to let them know how poor we were.

She never accepted money from them either.

When I hit puberty, 

I blossomed over night!

It was a nightmare!

I am sure it had to do with our poor eating habits.

When I turned 13 I got my first job.

I helped to put food on the table and was finally able to buy my own school cloths.

I was never so proud as the day I dished out money to the cashier

for my own clothes!

I don't know how mom did it, but she ALWAYS made

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!

It was my favorite time of the year.

It was always just mom and my siblings.

The anticipation  mounted it was hard to sleep on Christmas Eve!

Santa managed to bring all good things.

Christmas lasted all day long.

We would each open one gift, and then we would play with it, 

check it out.

Take a break and eat a good meal,

Play board games,

Listen to music.

Yes Christmas was good.

I tried to replicate it with my kids in their lives,

but I don't know if I have managed to or not.

Life was poor, but was good.

Stayed Tuned for part four.........