May 18, 2012

The Beginning of Retro Friday

 Welcome to the beginning of my Friday series, where I go down memory lane. I thought I would start from MY beginning, so that I can have a nice timeline of sorts going here. I have always kind of wanted to do this since I started the blog, because I wanted a scrapbook of sorts to remember moments of my life, both present and past. So here we go!
I love looking at the photo of my mom pregnant with me. I often wonder how she felt at the time this photo was taken. I only know a few things about this time in her life. She was 23 in this photo (somehow she seems older to me), and my brother was maybe close to two years old. I see so many likenesses in this image of her. In it I can see my oldest daughter, and myself. If you are reading this Nicole, don't you think you look like her here in the mouth area???  My mom is Panamanian, and she probably, at this time, still didn't have a great command of the language.  She told me once how depressed she was living in the mountains of northern California, especially when winter would set in. There were days she just didn't know what to do with herself, and being a young mom with no friends in the area, must have been rough. She taught herself English by watching soap operas.
My brother was a little stinker, so I'm sure he kept her busy.  One story my mom told, was that my brother did not handle having a new baby in the house very well. She said that once, while I was taking a nap in my crib, he pulled my legs through the slats and bit me several times! He also tried to cut my hair. How a small toddler had access to scissors is a crazy thought to me.  When my mom caught him doing these things, he got in big trouble of course. He pretended to drink rubbing alcohol, and my mom had to rush him to the hospital!  I have many stories about my brother, some good, some not so good, but hey, isn't that the story of most siblings!
Here I am! I had a full head of hair, and being the only girl born in this tiny mountain hospital, the nurses went crazy playing with it. My mom use to tell me the story of the doctor who delivered me, asking her if she wanted to give me up? He had five sons, and always wanted a daughter. I'm sure my mom was kinda creeped out by this, but I'm sure he was just joking. My mom thought it was because they were a young struggling family, and they might not be able to afford having another baby. I think she was being dramatic.

These pictures were reprinted from slides, so they have kind of a dreamy quality to them. My dad took so many beautiful photos of us when we were little, and most of them were on slides. A while back I borrowed them from my mom and had them printed, so that my girls could see them, and I could include them into our family photos.  

I'm not sure how many little kid pictures I will put up on here, perhaps the ones that bring up a story or a feeling, we will see where this takes me..........

What is your favorite story of when you were born?



16 comments:

  1. I am going to love visiting here on Fridays! I love your baby photo...so beautiful. Have you found out where your Dad bought in Ontario?

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  2. oh my goodness you are so cute and your hair is fabulous! my brother is nine years older than me and teased me endlessly. now, he has his pilot's license and i have yet to go up in a plane with him. i think the temptation to scare me to death would be just too strong, although he denies it.

    loved this post and learning more about you. have a nice weekend!

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  3. Oh those photos are beautiful...I'll be looking forward to next Friday....

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  4. What a great idea and what a head of hair!! I can see the resemblance of your girls (and you) to your mother. Did the girls have such luxurious hair at birth?

    Have a good weekend.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  5. @Bonnie, Only Caitlin had similar hair to mine, although, I think I still win the prize with the most hair! Nicole's hair was dark, but she looked like a little friar tuck. She had sparse hair on top, but a a lot around the sides :)

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  6. i've found my new friday "go-to no matter what" blog! this is wonderful elizabeth. how cool to learn more about your family history and that photo of you as a newborn is priceless. :) i'm glad you mentioned that these are from slides. my father too used slides when i was a child and i've wondered how they would look if i printed them. these are wonderful! and for a story...my poor mom. she was 19. so young and in labor for a full day longer then expected due to my grandma arriving "to help" during the delivery. she always calls me the day before my birthday to say she THOUGHT my birthday would be on this date...but instead it's 24 hours later. :)

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  7. It is so wonderful to read the backstory of a persons life. I am always intrigued. Your brother sounds like a bugger. I had one that stuck a plastic berry in my nose playing dr. It bled a lot and I had to go to the hospital to have it taken out so I sympathize. I look forward to retro Fridays

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  8. My Mom cleaned out the fireplace while in labor with me since she was up and could not sleep. Can you believe that?

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  9. First - my apologies to Nicole, I see Caitlan all over the place when I look at the photo of your mom. Back in the day, the mountains of northern CA must have seemed like the end of the world to her. Compared to Panama, I am sure it was. How is it that she came to the states (and met your Dad)? I see that the other comments are all saying they liked this post - me too! One of the problems with blogging is that there is "no history". Without "history", there is always this vacant space in your relationship that you can't quite pinpoint. Having the stories is great, but having the photos solidifies it- we are now closer to you. It is a gift. I have NO IDEA if I have any photos from way back when, but I will be on a hunt to see if I have ny of them in my house, or if they are all at my mother's house. Living on the boat and then moving a couple of times means that there are boxes that never get unpacked. I will hunt for them, so I can return the gift of this post. I liked it. Carolina

    PS prom was last night - school is OVER, I am FREE

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  10. Elizabeth, I went on Cailin's new blog - my comment wouldn't take under open ID. Let her know that I am super impressed on how well she made the transition to the iPad drawing - it is a steep learning curve.

    Carolina

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  11. @Carolina, I'll be doing a post on my mom with some photos around her birthday, which is June 23rd, but the post will be on the 22nd. I have some really nice photos of her that my dad took.

    I love hearing and seeing stories through pictures about people, and their history. That is why I decided to do it.

    I'll relay the comment to Caitlin about her drawings.
    I'm glad that you have more free time now :)

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  12. I love this! I can't wait to read more about your life growing up! Your mom definitely looks like you and your daughter! :)

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  13. It's a good thing she didn't take the doctor up on his offer! That would have been embarassing for him to try and explain the joke.

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  14. What interesting stories! Your poor mom must have been traumatized by that doctor--what a thing to say, especially to a woman who has (1) just gone through labor and (2) doesn't have 100% command of the language. A different time for sure.

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  15. My first thought was how much your mom and Nicole look alike! (Although another reader thinks the resemblance between your mom and Caitlin is closer.)

    Am enjoying these images so much!

    Dawn

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