The One's That Shape Our Lives-Pt. 1

Way before my hot date there was Hil and Jill or Hilarie and Jilarie. We were not really two separate people until we grew up. When we were little we came as a pair. And we are not even twins....well people called us Irish Twins because we are a year and a week apart. But we could not have been more different children or different adults but I digress.......

The next generation, my son and Mike's daughter: Nina and Mitchell

Our parents divorced when we were two and three after 14 years of marriage. We were living in San Antonio at the time. My grandmother and my mothers brother (Uncle Kenny) wanted my mother to bring us home to the East Coast to live but she said no. My Uncle asked if she needed anything and she said yes, take the girls so I can get back on my feet. Our first plane trip back East was in 1973. Jill was 3 and I was 4. Back then my mom could buy a plane ticket for a stewardess and she would care for the children traveling alone. Upon arrival no one in the plane moved until the children were taken off and handed to their guardians. It really was a safe way to travel and we loved it. Normally Aunt Mattie (Uncle Kenny's wife) would pick us up from the airport. We would head straight to their house and set up for the summer. During the weeks and months that followed a slew of relatives would come and pick us up for day trips or a week at their house. And they took our baby cousin Mike too, he was probably around 20 months at the time.

Uncle Kenny in his teens

It became our routine and our lives during the summer. My sister disliked the freedom and sometimes chaos of my Aunt & Uncle's house preferring rules and bedtimes and dinner time to be the same as it was at home. I, on the other hand thrived at their house. As Mike and I grew we also discovered we liked the same things and forged a relationship stronger than family, we were also friends.

Mike's father, my Uncle started us on chores at a young age. Mike did yard work and Jill and I worked in the garden. We all cleaned the house and learned to do laundry and fix small things around the house. When we were 11,10 and 8 my Uncle taught us how to build a simple deck. It is still me and Mike's pride and joy. We learned some valuable lessons that month. And one lesson in particular I carry to this day.......do the work right the first time, having to take something apart and do it all over is twice the work and in the end not worth it.

Until our next hot date learn to enjoy your children at every stage and cherish the memories you are making.