Just an Ordinary Girl

I am an ordinary girl from rural Iowa. I was born in 1964 and grew up on a big farm with my parents, four brothers, and four sisters. I am the eighth of nine children. Although we did not have many material possessions, I did not feel underprivileged. As we either raised or grew everything we needed ourselves, we were self-sufficient.

I loved growing up amid an abundance of nature and the freedom that the wide-open space provided. Having a large amount of land and many animals meant there was plenty of physical work to do, and all of us were expected to do our fair share. Summer days were especially filled with a variety of chores. We spent many hours walking up and down the mile-long soybean fields pulling and hoeing weeds, baling hay, picking up rocks, and gathering mustard. My father was ahead of his time in terms of conservation and did not believe in using chemicals on the land. This was a great thing, but it meant that there were many more weeds to pull than average. We learned to care for animals from an early age. We raised many cattle and pigs. In addition, two cows provided fresh milk, several chickens furnished eggs daily, and we enjoyed horses, rabbits, dogs, and cats as pets. During the winter months the boys continued with the outdoor chores with the livestock, and we girls mainly helped in the house.

Our large farmhouse was more than one hundred years old and was built by German settlers. We had a beautiful huge yard that was perfectly manicured. It resembled a park with many old trees and a wide variety of bushes and flowers. Both of my parents enjoyed gardening, and as there were many mouths to feed, our vegetable garden was substantial.

Every Saturday my mom baked fresh bread for the week and delicious cinnamon rolls for Sunday morning. While I worked regularly alongside her, I felt as though I was continuously learning, whether it was in the house or outside in the yard or garden. She taught me from an early age all of her domestic skills and at the same time expressed her thoughts and opinions about life, her faith, and the world almost constantly. From the time I can remember, she instilled confidence in me by expecting that I could successfully complete whatever task she asked of me. When it came to housework, homework, county fair entries, and science fair projects, she was quite competitive and often encouraged us with a great deal of praise for a job well done.

The closest town to our farm was Stacyville, which was five miles away. Stacyville had a population of 476 people. Almost everything in the community was centered around the church parish, and everyone, including many extended family members and all of our neighbors in the countryside, attended the same church. I treasure having been raised in such a wonderful community. Of anywhere I have traveled and lived in the world, the pure and genuine goodness, friendliness, and generous nature of the people in this community still impresses me to this day. I will always have many fond memories of my relatives and neighbors from my hometown.

Music was always a big part of our lives. Some of my best memories with my family and extended family on my mom's side involve singing together. My parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and many cousins have been blessed with beautiful voices and are naturally talented musicians. A typical scene at a family reunion would be my uncle along with at least one of my cousins playing guitar, another on the piano, and about thirty of us gathered around and singing.

Both of my parents loved to read. Education was important, and studying was encouraged. Therefore, books were very important. The bottom shelves of our bookshelf were filled with Christian books, including the Bible. There was also a well-used set of encyclopedias, books about distant countries, and geography books. The top shelves were filled with some of the leading motivational and inspirational books by various authors. I remember on hot summer days looking forward to going to the local library and bringing home a stack of borrowed books, although I was not as studious as some of my older siblings. I chose some books for reading, but I chose many for the pictures, as I liked to draw and sketch a lot, especially animals and nature scenes. My dad's mother was a wonderful artist. As part of her legacy, she left her children many beautiful paintings of all sizes. Most of us have inherited her creativity and love for art.

Because my parents had a great interest in foreign countries and cultures, we often had foreign exchange students living with us and guests from overseas at our Thanksgiving or Christmas celebrations. Sometimes these guests from distant countries were invited by my older brothers and sisters while they were attending college. My mom was a fantastic cook, baker, and host and had the ability to make everyone feel welcome. "The more the merrier," it seemed. Later as our family grew, the holiday tables were also filled with in-laws, boyfriends, girlfriends, nieces, and nephews. I am still impressed that my mom could consistently host so many people and do this happily.

I believe the best gift my parents ever gave me was their strong faith. They both had a great love for God, Jesus, and the blessed Mother, Mary. I was raised in a traditional Roman Catholic family where we prayed together before every meal, went to church every Sunday, often prayed the rosary together, and attended Catholic grade school. My mother spoke often and openly about invoking saints and angels for particular prayer needs, and the walls of our home displayed pictures of Jesus, Mary, and the classic guardian angel prints. My dad had a strong devotion to the blessed Mother Mary and was particularly interested in Lourdes, Fatima, and Medjugorje, the most...