My mother Cheryl Willock is a big influence in my life, she was a young mother but she did what she had to do to make sure I had everything that I needed. She worked at Kodak for over 30yrs; I knew that I could always depend on her. She taught me to make my own way in this world and if you work hard you can have what you need. She made sure I had what I needed but also what I wanted which was good and bad, I was a little spoiled. I grew up knowing that I did have to work for everything. She taught me to be independent. We have a great mother and daughter relationship and are great friends.
My maternal aunt Gwennette Davis is a big influence in my life, my aunt is the third youngest child of my grandmother. I was the niece but all so the youngest sister. I did everything with them and I was her baby as well. She is very creative and I think I get my creativity from her. She taught me how to sew and how to braid hair. If she is doing something and gets stuck she will call me and together we will be able to solve anything. We have grown to be great friends.
My maternal aunt Wauneta Ladner is a big influence in my life, my aunt is the baby of the nine we are eleven years apart. We a very close we work as a team. I remember when I was twelve it was the summer and she was doing a paper route for extra money she asked me if I wanted to help so I did. The first day we went to all the stores to delivering papers and when we finished I told her that if we changed the way we went we could get done faster. So I told her how we should do our route and the next day we did it my way and got done two hours earlier. She has always listened to me even when I was young and most adults didn't want to hear what a child has to say. She made me feel that I should always be heard and the confidence to voice my opinion.
My maternal grandfather was a big influence in my life, my grandfather was the male figure in my life growing up he was not always in the home but his present was known and I felt love from him. He always made me feel special and adored; I was like daddy's girl. He is no longer with us but his memory lives on in my heart. I remember when he was in the hospital and they were moving him to a different room, they were packing up is stuff and he had my high school picture right next to him. He was proud of everything I did and I wanted to do things to make him proud of me.
I can truly relate to you about the maternal grandmothers. My grandmother helped raise me and my sister also. My mother always lived with her mother. She never married. Growing up I always had my mother and my grandmother in the same house. My grandmother was more like my mother because she was always there. My mom worked to provide for us. I guess back then, child support was not as thought of as it is today. They both were very influential in my life. My grandmother taught me values and how to take care of myself. My mother taught me how to become a "STRONG" woman and how to be independent. They both played a different part in my life and I will forever be grateful for their wisdom.
ReplyDeleteHello N, I love your relationship with your family, you seem to have a lot of wonderful people in your life! I respect how everyone contributed to your upbringing in a certain way, like your grandmother reading stories, your maternal aunt Gewenette in teaching you sewing skills and braiding, also how your other maternal aunt Wauneta build your confidence and your right to speak. I enjoyed reading your post, cant wait to read more!!
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