Personal Childhood Web

The topic of this blog is my personal childhood web. I am to think of at least five people who helped me grow, cared for me, and made me feel special.

I will start were most people will start:

Mary Clare Madden Jordan, My Mother

My Mother had five children in the first seven years of her marriage. I was the first born. Because of this, my Mother relied on me to help with my younger siblings quite a bit. I wasn’t expected to be a built in babysitter, but a protector. My Mother showed me how much she trusted me by entrusting me with responsibilities. She provided love, support, and guidance along the way. I remember the way she taught us to shop. She gave each of us a few dollars and one or two items to go and find, bring to the register, and pay for. She would wait at the front of the store for us to complete our tasks. It would have been easier to just grab a cart and pick up the items herself (and faster if she left us with our Grandmother), but she wanted us to learn the skill. Once I married and moved from the house I grew up in, I stayed within a few miles, wanting her to have the same close relationship with my children. She and I even worked in the same classroom for 13 years. To this day, we speak to each other several times a week.

My Mom and I with one of our first students.

Anthony Edward Jordan, My Father

When I was growing up, my Dad worked as a traveling salesman for a building products company. This meant that he was on the road, sleeping in hotels for at least 2-3 nights per week. In addition, he served as a volunteer fire fighter, which meant that he spent a good amount of time in training, on calls, or working on ways to help the company raise money. When I was young, I didn’t think too much about that fact that he wasn’t around much, since my Mother was always there. Fathers had a much different role in the 60’s and 70’s than they do today. I did have the typical resentful feelings when he wasn’t around when I wanted to do something, or when we had to quickly leave somewhere because he had to respond to a fire call. As I got older and more mature, I realized that he didn’t like being away from us any more than we did. He did it because it was his job and it provided a roof over our heads and food on out table. He joined the fire company not to escape his family, but because he felt it was his duty to protect his community. This dedication to service inspired my daughter, my husband, my youngest son, and my brother to follow in his footsteps. They all serve as volunteer fire fighters, and in addition, my husband, son, and daughter serve on the volunteer ambulance crew as well. As with my Mom, he and I speak several times a week.

My Dad, and the fire fighters he inspired

Bernetta Gettings Jordan, My Paternal Grandmother

I was the first grandchild, and because of this, I had a very close relationship with my Grandma Jordan. As a young child, I spent a great deal of time with my Grandma. We would take the bus into town and run errands, or walk to the local stores to shop. I would sleep over her house whenever I could. She would bake with me (to this day I wish I had her recipe for doughnuts), or let me play with her jewelry, or tell me stories about her life. As I got older, I continued to spend a great deal of time with her, but the roles reversed as her health declined, and I cared for her. She passed away during my senior year of high school, and not a day goes by that I don’t miss her. I believe that she is watching over me to this day. After all, I was awarded to scholarship to attend the college that she wanted me to attend just a few weeks after she passed. A few years later, I gave birth to twins (something she always said I would do since my Mom didn’t have any, and they run in our family).

Grandma Jordan, with her 3 sons

 

Harold Maurice Jordan, My Uncle

Uncle Harold was my Dad’s older brother. He never married, and never had any children, so he spent a great deal of time with me and my siblings. Each February, he would take me and my sister Anne Marie out for a fancy meal in a nice restaurant to celebrate our birthdays. He would let us order anything we wanted on the menu, and encouraged us to order things we never ate before, just to try them. Afterwards, we would go to a special event, like a magic show of musical concert.  He would take us to the local amusement park, and let us ride until we got dizzy. He always rode with us, even when we got a little older and started liking the fast and crazy rides! He would take us for special treats that he knew our parents couldn’t afford, but never let on that money was tight for them. He came to school concerts, sporting events, and plays. He even paid for the flowers when I got married. Uncle Harold passed away five years ago. His absence is felt every day.

 

 

Uncle Mike, Uncle Harold, and Dad

 

 

 

Anne Marie Jordan Scott, Kevin Michael Jordan, Karen Therese Jordan Cigan, and Eric Xavier Jordan; my siblings

The Jordan kids were always a unit, so I have to write about us as one. Five kids so close in age is challenging in so many ways. “Why aren’t you more like your sister?” “I hope you aren’t like your brother.” “Which one are you again?” It could be enough to make you run screaming for the hills. But we were raised to love and protect each other above all else. Family first was drilled into us from a very young age. We could fight with each other until my Mom would lose her sanity, but God HELP anyone who crossed one of us, because they had to deal with the rest of us! We saw each other through mean teachers, bad friendships, broken hearts, disappointments and failures. We celebrated victories, graduations, marriages, and births. We always knew that we had a whole gang backing us up, no matter what we did. Although we don’t all live together (in fact, we don’t all live in the same state anymore), we remain as close as ever. We text, keep up through social media, and see each other as often as possible. Between us, we have 11 kids of our own, and we have created childhood webs for each of them in the same way they were created for us. We attend dance recitals, sporting events, school functions, and parties for each other’s kids. My sister Anne Marie’s children attend school in the center where I work, so I drive them home just about every day, and sometimes pick them up in the morning.

Anne Marie, me, Kevin, Karen, Eric, and our parents

 

I was taught to value family above all else by each and every member of my childhood web. Jobs, friends, material possessions may come and go, but your family will always be your family.

 

 

My parents, me and my siblings, our spouses and our children (Xander, my sister’s son, was born after this picture was taken). This photo was taken in celebration of my Mom’s 70^th birthday.