To tell any story, introductions must be in order. Otherwise what good is a story without its cast? My family is a little crazy and odd, but we like it that way. But, in order to protect the minors at least, I'll not be using their real names, but some made up fictitious ones. The stories told will be quite real and entertaining hopefully to those who read.
First, there is my lovely wife, Lucy. I met her in college. Now, understand this would not be unusual had not this college been a bible college. Going there lasted as long as when I asked her to marry me, and THEY said no. We said bye and moved on, and I will not bore you with the details of how we met or our engagement. That is another tale in itself. She has been a wonderfully kind and loving wife, who through the face of adversity, has stuck by my side and been faithful. The funky thing with her that I will poke some fun at is her spelling. My wife has a unique way of spelling, that, over the years we have fondly come to call 'Lucy speak.' I can translate it fluently now, but early in our marriage, it caused me no end of frustration.
Next in the introductions would be my first born and eldest daughter, we will call her Bet. No, it is not her real name, but it is something that we do call her. She has had aspirations since a young child to become a doctor and to tell the truth. She is brilliant enough to do it. She has a quaky sense of humor and is lovingly dedicated to her family. This very recently turned teenager though has a flaw, though her hair might be brown, she has what we in the family term a blonde streak that I will swear to as her father. She can fall for the simplest of jokes, and we love her for it, even if she does get teased. Bet laughs too and loves to tease back once the joke has been explained. Give her literal items, science, literature, or algebra, and you will be the one who will be getting the lesson as the girl is absolutely a genius.
Third, on stage is my firstborn son and Irish twin to his sister. We will call him Ray. For those who do not know what an Irish Twin is, Iris Twins are born within the same twelve-month span. For two weeks out of the year, Ray and Bet are the same age, much to his sister's dismay. Ray is almost the exact opposite of his sister. Whereas his sister is brilliant with books an anything academic, Ray prefers hands-on mechanic or building. If it has to do with getting his hands dirty, then he would rather skip the books. In part, it is due to dyslexia. That unfortunate runs in our family for the males along with shade blindness. As a child, I too struggled with the disorder, and I have had to teach Ray how to deal with it.
Now in the next tier would be one that we had thought to be the last, we will call her Izz. Izz is a curious mixture of both her brother and her older sister. Smart to a point with books but prefers to be outdoors with her brother, preferably getting dirty. SHe is a tomboy through and through. Izz has a witty sense of humor, and with her blonde hair and stunningly beautiful blue eyes, one day she is going to be causing this father no end of trouble (or no end of holes in the ground.)
The fifth is the most recent addition and as such will probably have the least wrote for him. We will call him David. He came as an utter surprise and is a miracle. The doctors who worked with us and never heard of a woman having four c-sections before and they were unsure how things would turn out for our big family. But he arrived in good order, and he has been loved by all since. Spoiled rotten by his siblings almost to the point of utter ruin, David has wanted for nothing from the moment he has come into this world. I will say that he is the first child I have ever had the pleasure of actually raising, but we can delve into that in another section of this. We have a whole book.
Lastly comes little ole me, Robert. I am, well me. I am an early retired truck driver and stay at home father. At the age of twenty-five, I started to experience leg weakness and one September when I tried to get out of bed I could not stand. It would be the worst day of my life and the start of a very long road. I would be diagnosed three years later with a very rare auto-immune disease called MMN. I was one of five people that had been seen at the University of Tennessee at Memphis that had it. Since I have fought tooth and nail to keep as much of life as I can.
In this, I want to outline stories of the laughter and tears that we have had along the way. A Family, from rural Tennessee, who against all the odds, have found happiness and unity, and most importantly hope.
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