The five people who nurtured and cared about me when I was just a child are my Mom, Mary Reed, my Grandparents (I had six), my Pastor and his Wife, my Siblings, and my 1st Grade Teacher.

My Mom – She means the world to me.  She influenced my life as a child to be a hard worker.  The sky is the limit and never look back and regret, always press forward and receive were some of her favorite remarks.  She made single parenting seem so easy.  She never let anyone see her sweat.  She worked many hours in a factory, made time to come home and cook and still manage enough time to help us with our homework and question us about our daily activities. Through her demonstration of hard work and her support topped with love made me feel very special.

My Grandparents – I grew up living in one big country block with my grandparents on one side, my great-grandparents on the other side, and my other grandparents on the other corner.  It was very special because I was fortunate to have six grandparents involved in my life – many trips to candy store or the ice cream parlor, riding on the big John Deere tractors, along with taking many vacations with them.  I always felt loved and they always felt I would grow up to be their little teacher in the family.  The supported my Brownie years, my Choir production, Grandparent’s Day at school, just about anything you could imagine.

My Pastor & Wife – My Pastor and his wife were also my godparents.  Even though I know now it wasn’t fair to the other children some rules didn’t always apply to everyone.  I got away with murder.  If I was going to be punished by my Mom they had a way to talk her out of it.  On special events I could count on my godparents to be in attendance smiling and cheering me on.  If something discouraging happen to me I knew they would say something encouraging that would ease the moment.  I knew without a doubt I was loved.

My Siblings – I have six siblings, one brother and five sisters two older and three younger.  Being youngest of the first set of babies my brother and sisters had to share everything with me and they had to take turns taking me on wagon rides every day sometimes twice a day.  I went on “puppy love” dates with my older siblings.  I was the role model figure to my younger sisters.  In all, I knew I was special to them if not only for the moment we shared together and they loved me.

My 1st Grade Teacher – My 1st Grade Teacher, Mrs. Grueneisen, always made me feel special.  Not always did I have money to get milk and she would make sure she bought an extra carton to share.  When I did a good job on my work she would put a big smiley face on it and let me pick out my own sticker.  She always told me I was beautiful and that she was proud of me for being respectful in her class.  She gave me big hugs throughout the week and on Friday she would give me a big bear hug to last all weekend long.  She had a unique way of showing me she cared.  When other children would tease me about being an Afro-American she would immediately take my side and take action.  She was special and she made me feel special as well.

Each of the above mentioned persons still to this day impact my life.  My Mother continues to support me and push me to do better than what she did.  Although my Grandparents, godparents, and Teacher are deceased the words they said to me and their actions continue to impact my life.  I’m sure just the way they made me feel as a child, now as an adult I would make them feel proud mainly from their positive support.