Frankly Friday…v21

What is Frankly Friday? 

Let’s define Frankly shall we…

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Last weekend i was going through some things my brother had put on my dresser and i came across our baby calendars. What is a baby calendar? Well it’s a calendar that you get for when your baby is due and you write down what happens in their lives every day that year. I’ve got to admit my parents did a great job at writing almost daily; <3 them.
{you can read more about them here, here, here}
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Reading their lives (and my life too) when they were just a few years older than i was, was thought-provoking. It gave me some insight on their humor, on where they were in life, on their priorities and their dreams. It helped me see my parents in a way i’ve never really thought of before: like myself.
My mom turned 26 after i was born…that is only 2 1/2 years older than me.

How beautiful is that…and the best part is: she started wearing cameo pins a few years before she passed away. Not that i think she considered herself old (oh my gosh she acted 24 sometimes), she just loved cameo pins and necklaces.
I loved reading their thoughts in their handwriting.
My dad had this beautiful {to me} fast writing that i loved.

How incredible is it that even though i never paid attention to their handwriting {i mean who does when you’re 13-16 years old} that i still carried that piece of them with me into adulthood {as well as my dad’s bad spelling}.
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One of my favorite things was reading my dad’s humor:

Wouldn’t you know it…i probably should have been a politician; i’m loud, opinionated, and over zealous. 🙂 Great observation skills dad!
When i read the shower post…i was laughing for 5 straight minutes; I mean that is hilarious.
Also “head pushups” haahahaha. Fun fact: my dad was a physical trainer and used to run marathons etc, so he made athletic references everywhere, one of the dates even said something about me squirming everywhere and how he needed to look into athletic endorsements since i’d be a fantastic athlete. Oh poor dad, i never became a serious athlete, oh well. 🙂
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I loved reading my mothers thoughts after hurricane hugo (which was horrible in charleston).
My father stayed in Charleston while my mother, aunt, & i traveled up to Columbia to stay with family. The hurricane was one of the worst hurricanes to hit the east coast, cat. 4 with 135 mph winds; and just in case you didn’t already know: Charleston is on the coast. My grandparents (my dad’s parents) stayed in their house on the water so my after the storm had died down my dad had to drive/bike/& run the rest of the way to their home (well over 30 miles) to check on them.

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I think what i enjoyed reading the most was their love and endearment for each other.
I could really tell that my parents loved each other and enjoyed being parents and spending time with me. This might sound lame but whatever. Since i no longer have them here to continually encourage & affirm me, & make me feel beautiful and wanted (because you and i both know parents can do a great job at that) reading the words that they penned telling the world how much the loved me made me sob.
My parents loved me. 
And i loved them. 

This is definitely something i will do when i have my children maybe with a different spin.
I want my children to know that they are loved not only with my actions, but in writing.
We never know how much time we will have with those we love, and we also don’t know how something that might seem so small (like writing in a calendar) could one day mean so much to another person. I will cherish these words for the rest of my life, and remind myself that even though my parents are no longer with me that they loved me (and my brother) fiercely. 

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Don’t forget to link up if you were Frank this friday! 🙂