If you look up March 14th on the National Day Calendar website, you will find that March 14th is a day to celebrate many interesting things.

One of which is National

Write Your Story Day

I have never written my story, or even thought about my story.  You probably haven’t either.  I suppose some may think, “I don’t have a story to tell; My life is unremarkable or just ordinary”.  This is what I tend to think about mine.  But as I understand, once your put pen to paper, the words begin to flow.

Lets see how well the words of ‘My Story’ flow.

I’ll begin with

My Name

It was on June 1st in 1966 that I was born.  Mama named me Kimberly, Kim for short.  She liked the name because she admired Kim Novak, who was a popular actress and quite beautiful back in the 1960s.

Mama doesn’t call me Kim anymore.  She calls me KEY-um.

I like it.

It isn’t often that I mention this, but my full name is Kimberly Gaye Reid.  Apparently I picked up a negative connotation of my middle name somewhere along the way.  Later in life I would exchange it for my maiden name.  Mama has explained that gay was a word that meant happy in previous, uncomplicated times.

As a very young child I declared that I had 4 names:

Kim  Berly  Gaye  Reid  Some of my family members ran with that, and I answered to the nickname “BerlyGaye” for many years.

I was a Surprise

It must have been an exceptional honeymoon.

I arrived only nine months after Richard and Mary Reid said “I do”.  It was on a Wednesday,  at 7:52 AM.  Of course I don’t remember this grand event, but since Mama tells me it is so, I choose to believe her.  She also told me that we lived on Detroit Street at the time.  I don’t remember this either.  But I do remember the second place we resided together.

My Home

Although it is no longer standing, the old green house with a single gas space heater was a place that I’ll never forget.  We lived there until I was 12, I think.  The house was nice, as I remember it, and very tidy.  The yard was great.  What was it, an acre and a half maybe?  There were so many places to explore outside.  I’m not sure of the actual date when we came to live in that house on the Road that was named for my great-grandfather Joe, but I know it is the home we resided in when my baby sister was born.  It was just after my 4th birthday and one of my earliest memories.

My People

Gina, who was named after Gina Lollobrigida, (seeing a trend) made our family a foursome on August 17, 1970.  The part of this day that I remember, is being dropped off at the Duckworth residence just prior to Gina’s arrival.  During my childhood I would spend a lot of time at Mema Duck’s house with Papa and Mema “Duck” and my 4 aunts who lived there with them.

My aunts were important to me and probably my best friends for a long time.  I remember their white Volkswagen Bug.  I remember going to the movies to see The Love Bug with aunt Linda, going trick-or-treating with my aunt Sharon and her boyfriend, who later became my uncle John.  My aunt Vicki spent a lot of time with me when I was very young, until my mean uncle Roger took her away to Mississippi.  Or maybe it was Louisiana.  This was a sad occasion in my childhood and it seems that life was never quite the same.  My mean uncle Roger, however, became a beloved uncle and my memories of him today are only precious.

My aunt Debbie was the “baby of the family”.  She was only 11 when I was born and it probably took some time for her to warm up to me.  I have an early memory of Debbie lifting me up and setting me on the branch of a tree.  I don’t recall what she was doing, or why she needed to put me in a tree, but I do remember that she told me if I got down she would “chop off my toes”.

LOL .  I still have my toes and my relationship with aunt Debbie only grew stronger through the years.

Another strong bond that I shared was with my paternal grandmother… Mema Reid.  I spent a lot of time with Mema Reid.  We shared a pew in church.  She always had Juicy Fruit or Doublemint Gum.  I stayed with her when Grandpa was on the road.  She was a fun Mema.  And she always made me feel like I was important.

Church Every Day

Not really every day, but often.  Faith Memorial Baptist Church was the place.

Mama tells me that I was in Sunday School before I was born.  My entire extended family attended this church and all were very involved.  Sunday school was every Sunday morning at 9:45 and worship services followed at 11 AM and again on Sunday night and Wednesday night.  There were the occasional weekdays spent there with Mama while she worked as the Pastor’s secretary.  I have so many memories that center around this church.  This is where I learned about God and His word.  It is the place where I learned to love music and singing.  Most of my close friendships were formed there.  It was a great place to be. It seems I may have spent more time at FMBC than at my own home.  As the years passed, my “church family” would fall under the “my people” category .  These are the people who helped mold my character, although I take full responsibility for any flaws that I have.

Growing Up

One of my flaws, as far as I’m concerned, is my propensity for pudginess.  I spent most of my childhood as a pudgy little girl.  I remember the chant “Fatty Fatty two by four, can’t fit through the bathroom door”.  Or bedroom or kitchen… depending on where she was going.

When I turned 15, my interest in a boy caused me to shape up and in time, get his attention.  I lost weight, sometimes inappropriately, but, objective met.

This is an unfortunate part of my story, but it seems to have had an effect on my psyche.

To this day, I am ever mindful of the numbers on the scale and the size of my clothes.

“that’s all I’ve got to say about that”

Looking back, my high school years were remarkably short.  I graduated in 1984 and enrolled in college.  My   scholarship pointed me in this academic direction, but I had no plans for my future.  So I began taking general courses, thinking it would come to me eventually.  That never happened.  Even today I cannot answer the question “what are you going to be when you grow up?”

My first job was Proof Operator at the First Guaranty Bank.  This was Daddy’s place of work and he was highly respected.  I am blessed that he believed in me enough to recommend me for the position.  I took courses in the morning and worked afternoons and evenings at the bank.  At this same time, I was involved in a serious relationship that would result in marriage.

Kimberly Reid Starling

In March of 1985, only nine months after my high school graduation, I was married, and at 19 I became a mother.  Stephanie came first and Amanda followed 13 months later.  I would choose to stay home with them until financial difficulty sent me back into the work force.  Daddy to the rescue.  Once again I was an employee of the First Guaranty Bank. And not long after, for the third time, I was expecting.  Richard joined the family in 1990.

I would remain in the banking business until 1999, when my occupation would change to home school mom.  While homeschooling my daughters, I realized that I needed help.  I joined forces with the state college that I had known many years prior, just to learn how to teach algebra.  The home school project was successful.  At the same time I decided to continue my own education.  This would result in an AA degree and, as a bonus, an AS in Interior Design Technology.  The interior design path lead to a job with the locally famous Liberty Furniture.  Initially as an intern, I was the showroom floor designer and accessory buyer.  This was a fun job.  The company went out of business in 2010 due to economic decline [aka Obama].  It was an amazing opportunity and I imagine there will never be another like it again.

My marriage ended in 2009.  It was legally official in 2011.  If I dwell on this I have a sense of failure because of my understanding of the Bible and known expectations.

These Days

I have a sense of wholeness.  I am where I belong.

My home is serene.  My job is uncomplicated.  Finances are not troubling.  I’m a GLAMMY!  Each of my children are successful and self-sufficient.  And although I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, I finally earned that degree that seemed so far out of reach.

Almost all of this is thanks to my LB.He loves me good.

I will be 55 years old in June, and now that I’ve started writing, I realize there is so much more to my story than what I’ve shared.  This is merely a synopsis.  I have many hobbies and some quirks, like the ones that I mentioned in my last birthday post.  Also I’ve  been to a great many places and experienced many things such as the ones I named in my Bucket List post.

I would end with happily ever after.  Instead I’ll say

to be continued…

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.