MY SON RICHARD

10-21-09...GROWING UP WITH RICHARD

I had such a good time growing with my Son Richard. I had lost hope of ever having my own little baby when he was finally born. Oh what joy. A feeling down inside me I had never known and will never know again.
I just stopped everything else and devoted my time to enjoying and protecting Richard. We spent so much quality time together. Going fishing, on picnics, walks, or just sitting on a chair together while I read him a book.
Today I am thinking of all the sweet and funny things Richard said in early childhood.
Richard's Dad loved him but he was a mean alcoholic and his language was awful so of course Richard listened and repeated. He didn't really know what he was saying but I spent a lot of time trying to teach him the difference between bad words and good words. I want to list a few of the times when his sweet little voice came out with an undesirable word and I smiled in spite of myself.
Richard and I were outside one day and encountered a snake in my flower bed. It was hissing at us and coiling up like it was going to strike. I grabbed Richard and took off around the house meaning to get a hoe to kill it. As we ran Richard yelled, "Mamma get the GD shotgun and kill that SOB" Oh my goodness , I wanted to laugh, I wanted to correct, and I wanted to get rid of the snake. What I did was get in a giggle fit. Later that night I told him those words were bad even if Daddy did say them.
Another time My Daddy gave Richard a silver dollar. Richard said, "That's a GD silver hundred dollars". Now when my Daddy got tickled of course I did too.
I spent a lot of nights explaining to Richard that all these words were bad and we couldn't say them. He didn't understand then but he did later. God Bless His Sweet Heart. I'll see him again some day and we will once again giggle.