You would think my father's adolescence rules as it applied to his daughters would be more
extreme and overbearing than the boys, but I can't add any perspective to that. Remember, I had
not had "That Talk" with my dad. I'm positive he had no daughter-dad talk 5 separate times.
My mother and father had 9 children together. I, number #8 of 9, had the bene t of having 5 older
sisters to help guide me through many of life's hurdles. This would come in handy later...I was a
good listener.
My beautiful sisters were all older than me and I only knew the older guy's in the neighborhood
understood that my father had many guns and was not afraid to use them.
That reasoning seemed to help suiters keep their distance from our front door. I don't recall any
harrowing instances. It seems all my sisters met their suiters at school. That kept any potential
confrontations down with our dad.
My 2 eldest siblings, 2 brothers, were actually old enough to be fathers and they were not around
during my toddler/adolescence period. So I relied heavily on my sisters for savvy, tact and
information when it came to girls. The do's & don'ts... Mostly from observation.
My sisters rarely spoke to me. They viewed me as just a kid. Most of them were in their teens. They
spoke at me. But they were all very nice to me and my younger brother. Very protective. Again, my
older brothers were much older and not around...If they would have been readily available, I know
they would have been just as attentive.
Fathers' Days would come and go. That was the only of cial day of appreciation for my father. He
never expected any gifts at Christmas. We were on the receiving end of that day.
He enjoyed that day, even though he knew our trinket gifts were of minimal value. He treated each
gift as if it was made of gold. He would smile often on those days. It was truly the thought that
counted and mattered for him. No gift, no problem. Those were enjoyable days for everyone.
Those life lessons would inspire me to respond to my kids when asked, "Daddy or 'Man" what do
you want for XXXX?". My response has always been, "Peace on Earth. Good Will Toward Men".
They never like that answer, but contin