Memories at Mamaw's

Dedicated to Dorthy June Coriell 

You know that quote: 'Home is where your story begins'. You hear it in sappy movies and see it on home decorations, It's so over used it seemed to have lost it's meaning. But as I looked over pictures of my childhood and the memories came back, I realized it had a different meaning , a real meaning for me and for my cousins.

Our story began in a small hollow in Ohio, or Holler to those who were fortunate enough to live there. Though the holler is beautiful and full of stories, but it wasn't what shaped our characters. It was each other.

I was lucky that I got to grow up with my cousins and so many of them. It was like already having best friends before you ever made any.  
Now to a lot of people cousins are people you see at family reunions and funerals, people whose name you can't hardly remember.  But my cousins were closer than siblings. And no matter how old we get or how far apart we now live, that will never change.  

Some of my favorite memories were playing in the creek and climbing trees, and taking hikes through tons of thorn bushes, not to mention Most of the time we were barefoot when we did those things. We were tough little kids.

My cousin Cari was our leader, we'd do just about anything she told us to. When we got in trouble it was usually her fault.  My brother, Ben was her second in command, and then there was me and Katie. Katie is Cari's sister, she had a temper and she was my best friend. We were practically inseparable even though she was a bit older.  Later came Trevor, Devyn and Madison they were the babies of the group. But they didn't become fun until they could play outside with us. The seven of us were the ones that actually lived in the holler. But we got to see Mandy, Marissa and Salem on Sundays. Derek and Todd  were older than us and didn't come down as much.

As we all got older, Cari and Katie lived with their mom so they weren't able to be around as much. And Marissa and Salem moved away. So I became the new leader, which really just means I got to be the Mom when we played house. 

We got to visit Marissa and Salem at their new home a few times. And Katie and Cari still came down when they could. No matter how much time passes we'd never forget growing up together and we'd always be close, that made the distance easier. 

Though I am close to all of my cousins; My cousin Marissa is one of my closest friends, she was even in my wedding.  We don't talk much or see each other often, but her and I had always seemed to have a lot in common. She was one of the reasons  I ever started writing, she writes a lot  and she never seems to care what anyone thinks about her or her stories, that really inspired me to start writing my own stories.

Then there is Mandy, she's older than me but we have always been close. She is sweet and a little shy, but she has a great taste in music and she always keeps in touch with me. I wanted to write this part about her, so when she reads it she knows how much I love her.

Though I could fill a book about my wonderful cousins, I don't have the space or time to talk about all of them.
 I just have so many memories of them and things I want to say about them, that I'm just not sure I am portraying them right.
But I found a quote that can help me some it up: 'We didn't realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun'.

Mamaw June- How do you describe a person who stepped up and became whatever you needed? Whether you needed a best friend or a Mother, or sometimes a teacher. She was and is the glue that holds our family together.  While our parents worked, Mamaw would watch us kids during the summer. She gave us kids the best gift anyone could have given us, She forced us to play outside. Rain or shine we were out there either on the carport or in the woods. 

She was always there for us. And no matter if there were five of us or eight of us, it was never too much for her. She always made us feel at home.
 I use to think it was her house that felt homey, but now I think it's her. 

She raised five kids of her own, on little money, her and Papaw Don did what ever they could to provide for their family.  Thanks to her, I got an amazing Father, who works hard to provide for his family and treated us kids with love. He is the person he is today because of her.


Now I have so many Aunts and Uncles I love, but alas I can't talk about all of them. But I do want to talk about two people very close to me. My aunts Angie, Terri and Missy. They all played big roles in my childhood. At a point in my life I found myself without a Mom, but it didn't take long for them to fill that void. They were there if I ever needed them and I'll never forget that.  I may have felt like I lost a mom, but I gained three more. I wish I knew the words to express how much they mean to me, but I've never been great with getting my feelings out. So I hope they read this and understand how much I love them.

As the years past I gained a new Mother, Darla and two new brothers. Though we differed in ages, we all became a family. Now my three brothers have given me the greatest gifts possible: Nieces and Nephews, all differing from ages and looks. And now the holler is theirs to play in!


For awhile now I have wanted to write about my family, just wanting to tell people about how amazing they are. Though I tried my best, I can't quite do them justice. Because of them I have so many memories, that I can only hope to give my children as many.
Thanks for reading! My next update will be more on topic of writing stories:)