I can remember almost every time I had to pack up and move.
First one I remember is it was a big day for our household. It was moving day (in your best “it’s coronation day” voice from Ana on the movie Frozen)! We were moving to the BIG house on Main Street. And again, what I do remember is coming into the house and we not only were moving into a bigger house but we also acquired three foster kids that came with the house. So I had two new brothers and one new sister and a new house. Apparently we got to have Jared, Haley and Tommy when we moved into this house. And it was GINORMOUS. So many rooms! So much space! It was like a mansion! Check out the photos!
I’m going to put an “f” by the foster kids to help keep up on who’s who. My life growing up was super chaotic so it’s easy to get confused.
So to get caught up of who’s in the house at this point we have… Jared(f), Haley(f) Jill, Clare(f), Tommy(f), Jake, Bryan, myself, Carol, Rupert, Laura, Jasmine and Tina(f).
I shared a room with my 4 other sisters at one point. Two of us on the top bunk and two on the bottom bunk and the oldest of the room, Jill got the big bed to herself. At bedtime sometimes us four girls that were on the bunk beds would get a little rowdy before we fell asleep. I can remember one night I was on the top bunk with my sister Laura and on the bottom bunk was Jasmine and Carol. Carol had fallen asleep, so I decided I was going to get markers (the washable kind) and make a long line connecting them that went down to the bottom bunk and I could draw on Carol’s arm while she was sleeping. Laura and I laughed and laughed it was funny because she didn’t wake up. When Carol woke up in the morning we saw that it ended up getting all over her face because she slept on her arm and it rubbed onto her face. We laughed so hard. I definitely got in trouble for that one from Carol but it was one of those that mom and dad didn’t find out because we had sister secrets.
Now there’s another time, same sleeping situation Laura and I on the top bunk. Jasmine and Carol on the bottom. The three of them were horsing around and I was actually trying to sleep. I ended up falling asleep only to be woken by being pulled off the top bunk and getting a spanking. Apparently the girls were being way too loud and it was bedtime so that made Dad mad because they weren’t settling down. So Dad, without knowing who was responsible spanked all of us! Hahaha. I laugh at it looking back because I’m sure I deserved it for something I didn’t get in trouble for like the incident above with Carol and the markers. But boy at that time was I mad about it! Karma got me.
I have memories of going to Letchworth State Park with my family. We would go to picnics for adopted kids and see others in the area like us. We would go to Ponderosa (buffet style eating) as a family every once in a blue moon. McDonald’s was also quite an adventure for us and felt like a privilege. Of course not everyone can fit in the van at the same time so we would use two vehicles or take the little kids first and the next time the big kids went. We made it work.
Not everything about growing up was awful as it can seem, I hit on a lot of the hard times. There were actually a lot of fun and great times that I had with my adopted family. Sometimes the worst times are what sticks out the most though.
We took a super fun family vacation once. We were going to Florida to visit my sister because she was graduating from college. I remember it felt like Christmas. My parents packed all of our bags we got the house ready we got the van ready and we were on our way. Laura cried on the plane because her ears were hurting so bad. Other than that I don’t remember the flights. Ooooh! We got gum! That was cool. When we got to Florida it was hot. It was so hot I got a little sunburnt and so did my brother which is unusual but Florida sun is so different than New York sun. We went on a boat ride we went to Universal Studios (I think?) we went to her graduation we walked around it was so much fun! We even learned what the red ants do. Just a warning to stay away from them. I love these memories because it made me feel like a real family and it makes my heart smile. Sometimes when you pack a bag it’s not a bad thing. It can lead to an amazing adventure.
Thanks for the read! More to come next week when I fast forward to current events! Always be kind. 🥰♥️
Frankie Jo’s Spot 