Memories of Me 1. When I was twelve years old, my mother came home from the Doctor’s and told the family that she had breast cancer. A. Never let your worst day, remain your worst day. a. 12 years old, I didn’t know what breast cancer really meant, it wasn’t something really spoken of in 1983. b. Was my mother going to leave me, what if something went wrong? c. No one would tell me anything, I asked questions, but was told that I didn’t need to know. 2. November 11, 1992…. My oldest daughter Victoria Elizabeth is born. A. Never wanted to be a father, never had any inclination to become a father, I held that little girl in my arms, and never wanted to let her go. a. She was so small, I felt like I was going to break her. b. I looked into those wide brown eyes, looked at the wrinkled pink skin, the tiny hands and feet, and thought, she’s mine. c. I became weak all over, and cried. 3. December 25, 1998….. My Grandmother passes away. A. Why, when the woman who hated me more than anyone else on the entire planet dies, was I crying? a. I remembered the hate in her eyes, when she looked at me. b. I saw, in my minds eye, a strong woman, who grew up in an orphanage in the 1920’s. c. The last tie to a painful past was finally severed. 4. After ten years of trying, and several miscarriages, my wife Cheryl, finally becomes pregnant, and now, the baby is due November 23, 2012. A. I wanted to cry, I wanted to laugh, then I thought, I will be nearly 60 when she graduates from High school. a. The first ultrasound, we saw our baby for the first time, I said it looked kind of like a frog. b. The second ultrasound. IT’s A GIRL. Oh marvelous, daughter number four. I couldn’t be happier. c. We posted the ultrasound pictures on Facebook, captioned. Citizens of Earth you attention please, may I introduce to you, Rhyanne Haley….. 5. January 1996, my Grandfather passes away, and my first marriage, ends in disaster. A. My world came crashing done all in one terrible week, time to get my house in order. a. I would never again be able to talk to the man who taught me to be a man. b. How long has my wife been cheating on me, and why did I need to find out now of all times. c. A nervous breakdown is almost a fun as a swift kick to the head.