Memories of Growing Up in a Large Family

ScanCafe customer Connie recently digitized a set of old slides that she chanced upon in her parents’ home. In this week’s story, she pays tribute to them and the childhood she shared with her siblings.

Between my siblings and me, there were seven of us in the house. And we were just eight and a half years apart from top to bottom! My dad was in the Air Force and so we moved around quite a bit.

The photos here are from some slides that we retrieved from my parents’ home. I am so glad we were able to scan them and restore them to their best versions. The first photo in this set is of my older sister and her best friend. The second one is of the same sister following a mime performance at her high school and with my two youngest brothers standing next to her.

We were a large family with very little money to splurge on anything. And so my mom sewed all of our clothes. When I see these photographs, I am so impressed that she had the energy to care for seven little children and make all of our clothes as well. She always made sure that we looked our best when we went out. The little girl in the red dress in the next picture is me. We were heading to church when this photo was taken. At the time, we were in Okinawa, Japan where my dad was stationed at Kadena Air Base.

The fourth photo is of my two older sisters. One of our favorite pastimes as kids was playing and digging in the dirt. I just love this photo because they have identical hats but their individual personalities come through in the way they are wearing them. And again, their clothes were sewn by my mother.

My dad passed away in April 2017 and my mom followed him in March this year (2018). They were married for sixty years. These photos are a testament to the good life that they gave us and all that they sacrificed to raise us.

My Older Sister and her Best Friend
My older sister and her best friend
Same Sister in the Middle Following a Mime Performance at her High School
Same sister in the middle following a mime performance at her high school
This is me. We were heading to church when this photo was taken.
This is me. We were heading to church when this photo was taken
My two older sisters wearing identical hats.
My two older sisters wearing identical hats