The Woman Who Introduced the Bonus Child

The Looker

Last, but certainly not least: This is my mom. Wasn't she a "looker" back in the day? Apparently my dad thought so, too. My parents were married when my mom was just 15 yrs old and my dad 17 yrs old. Wow, huh? My mom had my brother 2 years later at 17 and my oldest sister at 19. My other sister was born just 4 yrs after that. Then, 9 years after that the bundle of joy, otherwise known as me, came along! Yes, I am what some refer to as "the accident" [at least that's what my siblings would have you believe...]

My Mom Called Me the Bonus...

Growing up [me, not the said older siblings], my parents were huge Zig Ziglar fans. Do you know him? You've probably heard one of his motivational quotes before...He's a motivational speaker who started holding seminars in the 1970's on the power of positive thinking. My parents went to one of the seminars and also bought his book and all of his tapes [cassette tapes...remember those?]. My parents sat on the side of the bed every morning and before they did anything else, they'd tell themselves what a great day they were going to have...They also taped a positive message on the bathroom mirror, so they'd read it countless times while getting ready in the morning. [I tried the early morning pep talk and I liked it, but never left any messages on the mirror for myself unless you count the time I took a bar of soap and a foggy bathroom mirror and wrote my name on it...] Well, this outlook profoundly affected how I look at life, of course [which is why I'm so more well-adjusted than my older siblings ;) ]. When introducing me to other people, my mom always called me her "Bonus Child" [not an "accident" or "oops"]. Anyway, the smart man that he was my dad followed suit, and that's the kind of attitude that I grew up with...and I wouldn't have it any other way... [My siblings are just jealous because they aren't the "bonus," which is understandable...lol]

The Mom Pics

Above are some pictures of my mom in various "mom" poses. The middle top one is a school picture of my mom, probably around the time she married my dad. The 2 outside pictures of her are with her first 2 babies. Look how young she looks [probably because she was - lol]. The bottom 3 pictures include...me! In the one on the far left, I am a newborn...sleeping on the couch with my mom and the siblings surrounding me. The other 2 were from a family trip to Big Bend National Park out in West Texas, which we did several times growing up [on this trip I was about 6]. One thing I'd like to point out is how happy everyone looks with my addition into their lives...[Trust me I've seen the before pictures and they don't look half as happy! lol]. Speaking of other pictures, there are a ton of them...apparently my dad thought he was a professional photographer...so, he took pictures of everything! Now they are all mine [thanks, dad]...There are a bunch of pictures of my mom in the early years. [Apparently she thought she was a fashion model...lol] So, it was hard to pick just a few to share, but I managed...to include 3 of them with me...

So, thank you mom for making me your "Bonus Child." [Oh, and dad, too, but that's for another story for another day.] I love you, and have a happy Mother's Day!

Caroline