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of Heart! ~ If you are not a subscriber and this has been passed on to you, join us by sending a blank e-mail to four_ears @ msn.com (remove spaces) with "subscribe" in the subject line. And get the love direct! Web site: http://www.geocities.com/jenniferioliver2001 Archives: http://geocities.com/jenniferioliver2001/Archives.htm ________________________________________________________ "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." - James Baldwin ______________________________________ LITTLE PRINCESS by Carol Roach Anne was a 17-year-old, and a naïve farm girl living in the big city. Though she came to nurse an aging aunt back to health, she found herself living alone with no friends and no family to speak about in a strange new city 600 hundred miles away from home. Growing up on the farm in a French Canadian, devoutly Roman Catholic home, Anne found herself totally alienated in this new city. She did not understand the culture, the fast-paced life or the tricks that young men play to obtain sexual favors from unsuspecting young women. She became a victim of the game of love, forever looking for that one true love who would love her unconditionally and marry her and have the Ossie and Harriet lifestyle of the fifties, the era to which she belonged. There were men, quite a few of them who claimed they loved her and would marry her but left shortly after they bedded her. Kenneth, however, was a man that appeared to be in for the long haul. They were planning to get married in 1955, until one night Kenneth appeared unannounced at her tenement building only to find her entertaining another man. He left without a fight but without an explanation as well. For him, the love affair was over. Shortly afterwards, much to his chagrin, he was informed by Anne that she was carrying his child. Though he never married her, he agreed to have his name included on the birth certificate. But there was more to come. Anne was in no position emotionally or financially to raise a child on her own. Once the baby was born, on her hospital bed, Anne threatened to place the child in foster care. He still did not marry her but did something rather unique for the time period. He agreed to take her home to his mother with whom he lived and raise her. So at the age of six days old, I came home to my dad and my grandmother. For the first years of my life, I was my dad's little princess. He simply loved me to death. Both he and his sister, Barbara, who was married but lived downstairs, fought over who would win my attention. However life changed for me, for at the age of five, my dad met a new lady who eventually became his wife. Therese never liked our family, and slowly but surely my dad's visits home become fewer and further between. In the beginning he came home to see his mom and his little princess. Later, it became increasingly apparent that he was coming home just to see his mother. I noticed on those visits, how he would always talk about his other children from his marriage to Therese and what he had bought them for their birthdays or Christmas. I didn't say much, but it got the better of me, and at the age of nine, I asked my grandmother why it was that though I was his daughter too, he never bought me birthday and Christmas gifts like the others. She had no answer for me, but what she did after that changed my life forever! The next time that Kenneth came home to visit his mother, my grandmother confronted him on this issue. Kenneth was inebriated at the time, and without a moment's thought he began to curse and said right in front of me, "She is not my daughter anyhow. Her mother was pregnant when she met me." My grandmother responded that she had always known that. And as the conversation continued they both seemed totally oblivious to the fact that I was still there taking it all in. Those words burned through my soul to the core of my being. And now 38 years later, those words are no less potent. For that day, my world collapsed. Everyone that I knew was not related to me. I was truly an orphan. My only solace over the years was that my grandmother was truly a saint, a woman who took me into her home and heart when nobody else ever wanted me. Carol Roach storytime123 @ hotmail.com Copyright © 2002 by Carol Roach. All rights reserved. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About the author: Carol is an internet writer who has published on various web sites. She writes about her life experiences. She is a grandmother living in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and has a masters in counseling psychology. She is currently working in the field of marketing. If you would like her other stories feel free to write to her at: storytime123 @ hotmail.com. _________________________________________________________ QUOTE FROM LESSER KNOWN FOLKS Four-year-old Matthew came running up the stairs, clutching a strand of crab grass that had sprouted a "bushy-tailed" tip. "This is a Mocha plant!" he exclaimed. I wondered what this grass had to do with our sweet dog, Mocha, we had put to sleep several weeks ago. "Why do you say that?" He ran his fingers over the tip and said, "When you touch this part it makes you think of her fur!" _________________________________________________________ ON THE HOMEFRONT HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my super-sister aka super-mom, Tomi Hadfield! We love ya and can't wait to see you at Christmas! I hope everyone has had a chance to recuperate from the Thanksgiving holiday. We took the easy way out and went to an all-you-can-eat restaurant. No cooking, no dishes. Just gobble-gobble, then go home and take a nap. We asked the boys what they were thankful for. Ethan: "I'm thankful for God! And my family! Madison, Matthew, Cody--" Matthew: "Yeah, God! And all the angels!" Ethan: "Matthew! Don't interrupt me! Madison, Matthew, Mom--" Cody: "I'm thankful for Mother Nature and all the animals--" Ethan: "--Dad, and Cody--" Matthew: "Don't forget Mom and Dad!" Ethan: "Matthew! You made me mess up! Now I gotta start all over again! I'm thankful for Cody..." Well, you get the picture. LOVE, JENNIFER I. OLIVER AND FAMILY four_ears @ msn.com "To live that in thy last long sleep, Smiles my be thine wile all around thee weep." - Nellie L. Wallace, June 24, 1873 _________________________________________________________ This E-mail may be forwarded in its entirety, but first ask the writer for permission before forwarding. Thank you for doing the decent thing! Ü ________________________________________________________ SUBMIT STORY, QUOTE, OR FAMILY LOVE MOMENT: http://www.geocities.com/jenniferioliver2001/submission.htm FEEDBACK: four_ears @ msn.com ________________________________________________________ |
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