Emma born / and a Changed Heart

Emma Lea was born five years after Jeff. I was 14 years old at the time and at an age to think it was foolish for my mother to have another baby.

Everyone who saw us out together as a family with 9 children would stare in awe and utter disbelieving noises. It was embarrassing!

Daddy came home drunk one night shortly before Emma Lea was born. He was in the mood where nothing Mom did or said pleased the man.

When he was like this he always ordered an omelet to be cooked. By the time it was finished Dad would be fast  asleep.  After everyone else was asleep and in bed, Dad would wake up, go to the kitchen and eat his cold omelet.

This one evening Mom could not get Dad to settle down. He spent the evening in their bedroom accusing her of being unfaithful while he was out of town. Daddy never hit Mom. But his words hurt just as much as a slap.

Listening to my mother cry and not be able to defend her was one of my saddest nights. It was then and there that I vowed to be my Mom''s best friend.

After this Mr. Hyde Father slept off the effects of the alcohol, he always was contrite and the best husband and father one could want.

He is the one who taught us to play marbles, mumbley peg with a knife, and even got on Elvin's bike and rode it backwards for us.

Emma Lea was born almost on my birthday.  She came to us on April 26, 1950

I still resented her birth. LaVerna was just leaving home to begin her life with summer jobs then off to College. She had always been Mom's main helper. Now I was expected to be her main girl. I was not ever good at heart as LaVerna. I hated getting up to feed a baby I didn't even want in the house.

Then a wondrous miracle occurred. As I tended this unwanted sister; she smiled at me. There was complete love and trust in her eyes. For the first time in my life I felt the quickening deep love of another human being. She needed me. My heart was over flowing.

After that Emma Lea was my special pet. I would protect her from Mr. Hyde.

When I married and left home it was difficult leaving 5 year old Emma Lea behind. She was shy and had just entered Kindergarten. I knew she would face some hard times dealing with her father as she got older and his binges continued. But she had the protection of Mom, a lioness who would fight for her. Emma Lea soon forgot me. I was able to take with me the gift of love she had bestowed on my soul. She still holds a special place in my heart.