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Growing Up With The Kent Family
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Growing up With Kent Family
Being adopted by the Kent Family meant I was going to have a large family!! Before being married to Elaine,
William had been married to another lady. He had a son named Hal. My parents had a son together who they named
Billy. Then came me! However, the happy family life didn't last long. William and Elaine divorced in 1974, a
little less than a year after my arrival. My mother remarried in 1976. When she did, I gained 3 sisters.
Their names are Tina and Gina (who are twins) and April. I did get to see my father on weekends. He took me places.
We would go to the beach and have a wonderful time. He would also take me to the American Legion in Jacksonville, Florida.
Matter of fact, it was at the American Legion where I won a trophy in a diving contest.
When I was 10 years old, tragedy struck me. My father died. It was awful! Losing him made me feel like I had lost something.
I really loved him very much. He was my Daddy in every sense of the word. My world was turned upside down. As if loosing
my father wasn't bad enough, we moved to North Carolina. Things were changing. I was changing. My whole world was changing.
Having 3 sisters is a wonderful experience! Even though my parents had divorced, I knew they loved me. Gaining Tina, Gina,
and April was a blessing in disguise. We had lots of fun together. We would paint ourselves up like clown, go to the beach,
and climb trees. Id like to add we could climb as good, if not better, than any boy. Having them around gave me three
wonderful people to help me with all the changes that took place. Living in North Carolina wasn't bad. I played softball.
My team even came close to going to the championship! We lost out by losing one game. However, there is a saying "close
only matters in horse shoes". To me that isn't true. I love life and I enjoyed playing softball. At least I was given the
chance to play softball!! Don't forget, I'm one of the lucky ones who was given a chance to come to America from Vietnam.
When I was about 13 or 14, my mother and I moved back to Lakeland, Florida. My grandmother had Alzheimer's and needed our
help. I went to school until I was 15 1/2 and then we gained a court order for me to quit. My mother needed my help with
my grandmother. Family is very important to me. My mother and I are very close. However, we had our moments and still have
our moments. We don't always see eye to eye on things. Id like to ask "What mother and child does?" With 3 children of my
own, I now know what headaches I caused my mother. {Smiles}!!
All because I was able to come to American, I have been blessed with 2 brothers, 3 sisters, a mother, a father, a husband,
a son, and 2 daughters. Of course there are countless friends! I wonder what my life would have been like if I hadn't been
adopted? What would it have been like growing up in a Vietnamese orphanage? Thank goodness Ill never have to find out.
The title was made with a tutorial from
Karens Creations
the background I made with the tube
from Karens Creations with psp.
Please do not remove any of the
graphics without permisson.
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