The Story Of My Life Pt. 2

There are people out there who can remember every small detail of their entire life from birth to present . I am not one of those
 people . I think it's mainly because my mind blocks out all the unpleasant memories and tries to focus on the Joy . 

I WANT TO REMEMBER THE JOY .

I was born on January 16 , 1965 on a Saturday morning . I was the product of my parent's reconciliation after being almost 2 years separated . Even though I was the second child , my dad wasn't around for my older brother's birth . In a way , I was his first experience . 

One would think that since my dad missed out on so much with his first child , he would make an effort to be a great dad , but that wasn't the case . He was raised to be distant , not showing 
emotion , and was described as the original mama's boy . 

My mom , on the other hand , made up for anything my dad wasn't providing emotionally . I have many  happy memories of my brothers , myself and our mom spending time together . 

Not many people know that I was born in Poland and came here as a small child of seven years  . I remember those first few years of trying to learn a different language and the struggles of trying to fit in an entirely foreign culture . We looked different and we acted differently than people who were born citizens . My parents wanted to learn the language and made every effort to do so by encouraging us to speak English at home . Not many foreigners make that choice .

Within five years of coming to the U.S , my parents bought their first home . Normally , it should have been a happy time for our family , but it was the opposite . My father drank and abused my mom , as did a lot of the men from that era . There was a lot of scrimping and saving , wearing garage sale clothes and desperately trying to fit into being American .

I can distinctly remember sitting in front of the telly , watching all those delicious commercials , wishing for a twinkie or a can of spaghettios . I felt like the word " greenhorn " was written  on my forehead for everyone to see . 

Looking back brings a smile , not tears or sadness . Looking back I only remember the Joy . I felt so incredibly close to my brothers and never could understand the fighting or bickering that our children do nowadays . 

To be continued 

Have a Blessed day everyone .