High School life was tough! Balancing school work and working was a challenge. The older cousins had other jobs by this time and my younger cousin and I would come home from school, eat a very quick supper, then get to work. I called my cousins my siblings, 3 brothers and 6 sisters, because I was living with them from about 9 months old and grew up as their siblings. So, in referring to my sisters, I will mean my cousins and my biological sisters I will either use “biological” or “real” sisters to refer to them.
My younger sister and I usually caught rides to work by way of another neighbor who also worked with us, walked, or rode bikes until I finally got a car my senior year of high school. Between work and babysitting every weekend, I saved enough to buy a Chevette. I was proud of that car mostly for the simple fact I worked so hard for it!
I usually babysat for neighbors and there were a few times I watched a few a little distance from us. Oh those times were interesting! I remember one time being asked to watch about 15 during someone’s party and that was a disaster. They were all over the place and at that time I was probably only 12 or 13 myself! I told myself I would never do that again! There was another time I babysat away from our area, but not too far, that I said I’d never babysit for these people again! I was sick one evening with a horrible headache and this family called begging me to babysit and I reluctantly agreed and let them know I was not well. She assured me I could put the kids to bed early and it would be ok. I did just that and rested on their couch until they got back. They chewed me out for not cleaning their house that was a mess before I got there! People can be rude!
My mom, who was my Aunt that raised me, babysat many neighbor children and I can recall a many of them who during their time at our home would have the chicken pox. We were always around them and helping mom and never got the pox. I thought I was immune to them until my Senior year babysitting our neighbors 4 children. Oh I got chicken pox so bad I slept on my hands and had to pour liquid food down me because they were inside my throat so bad! I was off of school a full week!
I learned a lot in my teen years! Between farming and watching kids all the time, I didn’t have time for much more and cherished my time with my boss “friend.” Several posts ago I explained how I was bullied and while I worked and babysat, I felt like I was somebody. God was setting a path for me and yet the devil wanted me as well. With the feelings of wanting to fit in, thinking others were talking about me or making fun of me behind my back, thinking people were mad at me, and the teen “poor me” attitude, I was a royal mess. My heart hurt but yet somehow I held on to God’s love by way of my poetry. He was beckoning me then more than I ever realized! I need to remind you that I am not writing this to make anyone feel sorry for me, but I have a bigger story to unfold!