It is not easy to be a Kid Growing Up!
(The battle begins, and the war never ends. )
Sandy’s Father Inspired Her
Little Sandy at three years old.
Often people thought I was Shirley,
the childhood actress.
People, you will find me as a soldier, not because of my enlistment into any
specific military branch, but because I was born into it. I started life as a battle.
My mother had trouble delivering me, in those days back during the baby boomer era.
I was born after World War II, the daughter of a soldier. My birth was in the year 1947.
In those days, a doctor only knew to remove the head of a baby that was breach by birth.
I call it quite primitive for medicine. He worked in a hospital and delivered three of us
in birth. As a result, My own mother had the same doctor to deliver her, and he honestly
almost got to that point with my grandmother in her delivery of my own mom.
Strange was the events of all our births. Both my grandmothers, my mother, my cousin,
and my mother-in-law shared the same birth month and almost close to the same birthdays.
We were all born Pisces. I would have been my mom’s birthday present, but due to the
time it took to deliver me, then I was born a day late.
It was not until about 7 years ago that I found out others in my family were born on my
same birthday but centuries apart. These two men my gr gr grandfather, and my 5th great
grandfather came to this country during and just after the American Revolution. It made
me feel like I was not the only one born on that day, and certainly I felt like I was not the
only little soldier then..
Complication After Being Born
I guess you can say that being born was one thing, and tolerating cow’s milk was another.
My mother was not one for breast-feeding her baby, because they did not know the
benefits at that time. I was born with colic and could not tolerate the milk of a cow.
Consequently, my mother had to feed me rice water with Karo Syrup mixed in.
I guess it must have been the thing to keep me alive and going. You have to as the reader
realize that I was born into a farmer’s family heritage. They did things differently than
now-a-days. They owned the milk cows, but I could not drink any milk without
stomach colic and pain.
Children Should Never Experience Bullying!
Then, there was the battle in school. I had a name as I grew up that made people
make fun of me. The kids called me all kinds of names and bullied me. My maiden name
got associated with blood and guts. The reason I got picked at was the fact that I changed
schools quite often with my father’s job in the military.
Even as a young child, I had a situation in which my mother had to leave me
with one of my grandmothers for about 6 months on a farm. I had to start the
first grade without my own mom and dad. I felt angry and lost. I blamed my own
father’s mother for not telling me what happened, when my parents went off and did
not come back.
Mother had to have gall bladder surgery, and she did not do well
afterwards. In those days, there was no surgeries like laser surgeries. It was open you
wide open, and hope you survive the ordeal. I asked myself, why in the world would
parents just leave and not come back.? Were they dead I asked myself?
Finally My Parents Show Up Six Months Into My First Grade Year
Six months later, my mother and father returned to get me from my father’s mother.
I got to go to Juliette Low Elementary in Savannah, Georgia to finish the first grade. This school
was named after the person that started the Girl Scouts. However, this school was in my
thoughts, because they served a snack in the afternoon, and I could get a glass bottle
of chocolate milk.
School at Juliette Low Elementary Started Traumatically For a Six Year Old Girl
Even that was traumatic, because we lived in the country near a farmer’s cow pasture. I had to ride the
bus to school several miles. I got off the bus at school, and I was so shy in the afternoon that I had to
ride back home, and I missed telling the driver to stop at my house. The driver got back
to the high school to make a pick up of high school kids, and they found this six year old on the bus.
They had to go back on the route to ask me where I lived. At that time, all I knew was that
I lived near a bunch of cows. Finally, I arrived at the house that looked familiar to me. I was sitting
right behind the driver, and I could see our car in the driveway. The bus driver opened the door,
and I went right to my front door. I finally had found my house.
(I will continue part II of my story as time goes on, and my readers return
for more of my life story, and the little girl that got older with more events
to take place. Be on the look out for The Soldier Part II.)
Meanwhile, I am letting my followers on Sandy’s Highway of Life to hear
one of the music productions that I did 2003. At that time, my time was
spent more in my creative music and working with other creative avenues.
My music was important, and I think of this country now and all those that
gave their lives and stood for us. I salute you as a soldier would, and even
though I was not enlisted, then I must stand as a child growing up
as a little soldier would.
I love this country, and the people in it.
We must all stand to make it better,and remember our country, our flag,
our soldiers, and the families of those that must endure a lot, when their
parents are in another country away from their home.
In honor of the memory of my father, then I place my work here for those that might hear my creativity.
