Nan's Alphabet

 My sisters were given different genes-same parents, maybe because I was the first girl born I did not get Gene - go shopping and  pick out clothes that match Gene - clean your house til it is spotless Gene - always get good grades Gene - be the prettiest girl in the class Gene - have all of the teachers like you because you don't talk back Gene - what ever you wear matches your shoes and bow in your hair Gene - know the answer to every question from the teacher Gene - your hair is always perfect Gene - be a good cook, a good baker of pies, cakes and desserts Gene - to hang up your clothes as soon as you get home Gene - make your bed as soon as you get out of it Gene - want to wear pajamas When my youngest son was in 2nd grade he came home crying. He told me all of the kids at school teased him because he had big ears. An earlier blog mentioned that Nan hated her ears. They were too big. My son at the age of 7 had the same problem. I thought about it and decided what to do. I ...

 When I lived overseas while my husband was serving in the military, Nan and I talked several times a week. Even with the 8 hour time zone change we found a way to communicate. So far away from family I wanted to catch up with baptisms, first communions, confirmation, happenings at the library and just stuff to keep me up to date on family issues. This continued for the next forty years. When I filed for divorce Nan called me every day for 3 months and told me to go back to my husband and those children, her grandchildren, needed a father. Every day I had to listen to her reasoning of why divorce is bad for children and harms them for life. I would always answer the phone because we did not have a display on the phones for who was calling. It was 1975. I was taught that your mother was always right no matter what the topic. You listened and did what you were told to do. I did not listen. When my daughter was in first grade she came home from school and told me that the boy sitting ...