I apologize for the long delay between posts. I don’t have a good excuse and will try to do better. Some possible future blog post topics may include my (and my sister’s) DNA results from Ancestry.com, the recently digitized (thanks, Megan!) home movies dating all the way back to the 1950s, and hopefully more guest memories (maybe my own one of these days…).

But for now, I want to share my mom, Melanie Lacy’s memories. Melanie is the youngest child of Ken and Doris and the first American in the family, born in Rowayton, CT in 1958. And she is the only one to follow them all the way to Houston, making my sister and I lucky enough to be born and raised Texans! Take it away, Mom…

I feel very fortunate to have lived with or near my parents for all of my 60 years of life. My earliest family memories are of a camping trip we took across the country from Connecticut to Colorado. The highlight of this trip was turning 6 and getting a deer skin holster and a cowboy outfit for my birthday. We bought new camping equipment for the trip including a canvas tent with lots of tent poles.

Soon after this trip my dad went to Atlanta for a job and brought home a jar of Georgia red clay that I took to school for show and tell. We ended up moving to Atlanta in 1965. I have great memories there of swim team, horse back riding lessons, Girl Scouts and softball. I also have great memories of my grandmother living with us and helping care for my brothers and me.

We moved to Jacksonville, Florida when I was 14, and I made some great new friends. We had a house near the St. John’s river and went out in our boat and canoe quite often. Dad enjoyed going crabbing in the late afternoon, and he and mom would take their cocktails and a snack and spend several hours in the boat.

I was fortunate enough to have some great high school teachers that saw artistic potential in me and encouraged me to apply to Florida school of arts in Palatka. I think Dad was thrilled that I was pursuing art but also that it was a Jr. college and not too expensive. Little did he know at the time that I would go to 3 colleges before getting my bachelors degree and then go back later for my teacher certification.

After a break from college and a move to Houston with my parents I finally finished my degree at the University of Texas. After marrying and having two children we bought a house 30 minutes from my parents. They were like second parents to my kids and were always there for us. They babysat, pet sat, took us to Destin every Summer, and provided endless fun with the backyard pool. They helped make it possible for me to keep the house after getting divorced and Dad stepped in as a second dad to my girls. He was a strong father figure and a great role model for my daughters.

Even though there were many things we didn’t agree on I always knew I was loved. He had a hard time expressing that love until his last few years when he became very dependent on me for many things. My parents have always been there for me through many events in my life, so I am fortunate to be able to give back to them now when they need me.

Reading that makes me tear up every time. It makes me realize how much I owe to my grandparents, all the way back to their bravery in leaving England to pursue opportunities to being second parents to me as I grew up in Texas. I have been so fortunate in my life because of them, and I feel their life stories so close to my heart.

Until next time…