Aunt Olean was foster mother to us five siblings. I was next to youngest & was a curious child. I wanted to know how & why things worked. I had always been looking for a reliable father figure but Uncle Bill, Olean's husband, was more grandfatherly, but a gentle soul who treated me well. But I kept searching for my ideal dad. Vietnam was raging and we listened to the news nightly as John, their son, was on active duty there. His Army uniform picture sat proudly on the living room coffee table & resembled the cute guy on tv, Ricky Nelson. On the way back & forth to church we kids would debate who we wanted to be our father. Elvis was always a favorite but I said Ricky Nelson instead because he had a dad & mom & brother on tv, and he was so darn cute in my second grade mind! I wished for it so bad especially when he sang during their Christmas episode. We lived on a farm and gathered pine, straw & cedar plus a little Christmas tree which we decorated with those & handmade looped paper chains, popcorn, and gingerbread men. We had never seen such a lovely tree & were so tempted to eat the bounty on it!
Christmas eve night we participated in the children's play, did the hayride, & rode home singing carols. I had never been that happy in my life!
I wondered if my wish would come true, I prayed so hard I was dizzy. Lying in bed, I thought that God had given us kids was more than anything we could hope for so I thanked him for the gifts of good, god fearing foster parents, a warm & loving home, and really tasty food. It was very late & I so deep in thought I barely heard the car on the gravel road. The front door opened & I could hear crying & ran to see what happened. Aunt Olean & Uncle Bill were bear hugging a man who looked just like Ricky Nelson! She said he was her son home from Vietnam, smiled sweetly, & asked me to go back to bed. But he asked her if he could pick me up & before she could answer I flew into his arms. I told him that I watched for him every night on the news & was glad he was alive. He told me he wished he had a little girl like me! I knew then that we all get what we need but not always what we want. There's more but you'll have to wait for the book to be published.
sisterly hugs,
dj