Chapter 1
It feels funny saying chapter….anything. I may not even get this out chronologically. It may even come out backwards at some point. My life has never followed a straight line. But I will try to keep it one lane…
Who am I kidding, this is going to be closer to five or six rollercoasters crossing paths and converging upon all of us.
I grew up in a pretty big family. The baby of the group so to speak. Five kids, four girls and one boy smack dab in the middle. Poor guy you must think. You’d be wrong. He gave as good as he got.
But to be honest, there was a good age gap between the second oldest sister and our brother. But the last three of us all arrived with 4 years of each other. That might have been a blessing or a curse. And the decision on that depended on what day it was.
Both of my parents were amazing. I cannot reiterate that enough. And being raised by those two individuals is part of what made me the person that I am today. Both my beliefs and my strength can be traced back to how they raised me and my siblings.
Our dad could outwork any man I’ve ever known.
He was this wonderful combination of military, construction worker, and Cowboy all wrapped up into this giant but quiet, hardworking and not always the most patient (I mentioned the five kids) individual that I have ever met, well at the time.
Our mom was somewhere between an angel and guide to the universe. The woman had five kids, was hard working in home life, work life, and even continued her education later in life.
I remember growing up in southern California in one of the smallest towns in existence at the time. At least in my mind. I remember riding horses with dad, and picking strawberries with my mom in the garden. The old rock fireplace with a warm cozy fire, listening to dad play the piano or guitar and playing with our dog Pepper. I was young when we moved from southern California to a small town in southern Missouri. Three families from the same small town in California moved to the same small town in Missouri. And once again, the area where I finished my youth was so small that we knew everyone close.
Now as any one in a small town will tell you, growing up in close proximity is nothing if not trying at times. And maybe close proximity is the wrong term, but I’m going to use it. Granted that while our county was pretty big, it was over 20 minutes to the next town where we were bused to the high school, and over an hour to a larger town so visit a big chain store, the mall, or even a McDonalds. And even to this day I wouldn’t trade that remoteness for anything.
Now imagine being in such a small community that one of you high school teachers says to you, “Oh no, not another Henderson”. To be fair, I was the fourth of our brood, so honestly she was in her rights. But she did turn out to be a favorite, so all was forgiven.
Humble beginnings and a humbler life still, but the times that lapse in between the growing up and the “I can’t believe I’ve made it this far” are both joyous and horrendous at best.
At what point in your life do you quit dreaming, at what point do you give up or settle. How many setbacks does it take to set a pattern in your life. Keep going, keep your head up, keep trying to overcome that which sets you back. It takes mettle, it takes steel and determination to overcome that which sets you back.
I have spent many years wondering what exactly my path in life is to be. What am I here for, why should I have bared the burdens and troubles that I have withstood as of yet in my life.
The dark side of life is not for the weak. It definitely isn’t for the disinterested. For how can you go through life without caring one way or another how life turns out or how you have made an impact.
I for one, cannot even imagine not caring.
Chapter 1…… I’m being a smart ass.. you’ll figure that out it happens frequently
