Connections

Here is part two of the series of articles written by Stephen Mayes in the Oregonian about the abused twelve year-old. This is when the dad faces the judge and shows no remorse. Tomorrow inspired by Ashley's story the prosecutor forms a charitable foundation to help abused children.

http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2010/01/abused_girl_12_confronts_accus.html

I had a childhood so unlike Ashley's, it makes me sad that I knew friends and had experiences she never will. My childhood is coming to the forefront this Thursday.
When I was a child we lived on a very small farm. All of us kids had our own horses. Bro had Calico, Sis had Princess, and I had a little Shetland Pony named Dolly. When you live in the country you really don't have many neighbors. Our main neighbors where Boyd and Maxine and their two kids, Tammy and Bill. Both our families used to go on rides together. My parents became really good friends with Boyd and Maxine and of course we became friends with Tammy and Bill. Our families often had meals together. We often had work parties together. We often went on rides together. We went trick or treating together. I remember more than once either Boyd or Dad pulling us on sleds behind their horses. I remember our families once working together carry buckets of water to help put out a fire in another neighbor's barn. We were neighbors. We were friends. We were as close as families can be. Maxine and my Mom share the same birthday month, January. A couple of weeks ago my Mom got a call from Tammy and what Maxine wanted for her birthday was to see my Mom. So, Maxine, Tammy, and Tammy's daughter will be here this Thursday to have a joint celebration with Mom. Of course Mom can't navigate the waters without sister or me and since sis is tied up with deadlines remodeling their house I am going to be head navigator. They are arriving Thursday and returning Saturday. I really want to do the for Mom. Maxine and Mom haven't seen each other in over fifteen years. This could be their last opportunity. Like me, Tammy is the caregiver for her Mom. Unlike me Tammy has a very supportive spouse. It is going to be really good to see Tammy. Sometimes it is good to connect to childhood friends and get in touch with your roots.

I will try to post daily blog entries while Maxine and Tammy are here but won't make any promises because I don't know what the schedule will be. I just know I really want to make the three days special for Mom and Maxine. They have been friends for over fifty years. How special is that? How often do we really get a chance to help old friends connect?

Dona once said that some of her favorite postings were the tributes I did to either my Mom or Dad. Since Mom and Maxine were both mothers to me, today's old post is a tribute to mothers I wrote a couple of years ago on Mothers' Day.

http://thedahnreport.blogspot.com/2008/05/tribute-to-mothers.html

Do you have childhood friends that you would like to connect to? Do your elderly parents have friends from long ago that you would want to support a reunion with? And do you think the sentence of Ashley's dad was enough? He will most likely be in prison the rest of his life. I am not sure even that is enough.