Influences

This week I've been thinking about the people who had an influence in my life when I was little (like birth through elementary school). I think back and I was surrounded by good people who wanted to build me and help me become a better person. As I pondered on these people, I realized just how much of who I am stems from how I was treated by them. I am so grateful that I was born into my world with my people. So, here is a list of the people and places that have influenced my life, in no particular order:

1.  My parents, Ted and Carol Erikson. They are good people who have worked hard their whole lives and never complained about it. I really credit my "Pollyanna"ish attitude to them. My house was a happy one with happy people. They helped me learn the value of work and I've never been afraid of working. They also quietly taught me that I can do anything but never pushed me into anything. They let me experience the consequences of my choices - good and bad. I could go on and on but this would be WAY too long.

2.  My grandparents, George and Gloy Messick and Bob and Elma Erikson. I LOVED them. I LOVED to be with them. I LOVED to talk with them. My Grandpa Messick worked a million jobs while I was little. However, he didn't complain. He just slept when he could. I loved working with him. I learned that work can be very difficult yet fun with him. Grandma Messick taught me pull taffy (which I could still do if I wanted) and to quilt (which I could also do if I needed to). My Grandpa and Grandma Erikson loved me. I knew it and I always felt very safe there. That is how all children should feel by their grandparents and mine will because of them.

3.  Rexburg, Idaho. Rexburg was a safe place for me. I walked with my aunts to town to buy candy at V1 so often. I sat on the edge of the window and held on as my mom drove from my grandparents' houses to ours. We rode our bikes to school, once a year, without an adult. We walked to Primary through Porter Park. We played in our front yard as kids on Highway 33. NEVER did I feel unsafe. Rexburg was just a good place. People watched out for you too. Like one day when I left school, at lunch, and walked next door to Arctic Circle and one of my grandma's friends saw me and then later told my mom. I knew people were watching me so I tried to make good choices.

4.  My teachers. I LOVED Washington Elementary. I'm a teacher because of my teachers - well not all of them. But, they all made me feel that school was a good place. Never did I want to stay home from school. I LOVED Miss Jones. She taught me Spanish and the Ukelele and challenged me to write to a million, which is a lot of numbers. Mrs. Hill, my very favorite teacher in the whole world, made me love reading. Not, that I enjoyed it through high school when I was forced to read certain books, but the kind of reading you do for fun on a squishy pillow in the reading corner. She is the main reason I teach. I thanked her for her influence about four months ago. She didn't remember me so much but I remember her positively and that is all that matters.

5.  My good friends - Kristy Siepert, Shannon Hardy, Marilyn and Marlene Erikson, Ruby Ward, Lucy Barzee, Jenny Williams, Cindy Westwood, Hiedi Sullivan and Connie Ricks. We had so much fun together. It was all good fun. All but one of us lived in the same Ward. I guess you could say we did everything together - school and church. I bet my parents never worried about me when I was with them because we were all just good. We influenced each other to be that way. That's what good friends are for. I still love them all even though I have lost contact with most - outside of Facebook.

6.  My mom's Ladies. My mom is a beautician with a shop in her house. Each week the same ladies came to get their hair done. They were like grandmas to me. Many have passed on but even when I was older I found myself drawn into mom's shop to sit with them and talk. I remember several of them cuddling me in their arms while they sat under the dryer chair or letting me read a book to them while their perms were processing. Sometimes they'd even bring me little Christmas gifts. They probably loved me (and my sisters) as much as I loved them and I bet they didn't know how much a part of my life they were. I couldn't wait for Fridays and Saturdays to see Ila McBride, Gen Smith, Doralee Thomason, Sister Bills (a teacher that let me check papers on the floor while her hair dried), Carma Ricks, Ardella Freeman, Aunt Mae and Aunt Blanche, and so many more. They were so good to my mom, too. Not all her ladies were, but these ladies were.

7.  My sisters - Wendy, Cristy, and Vicki. I LOVE them. They are my best friends and that's the way sisters should be. I loved playing house, school, and barbies with them when I was little. Before all of us became teenagers, I don't think we fought much. We were just good friends and accepted each other as we were. I just remember liking to be with them and never feeling lonely. They are all good women and mommies now. 

I wish that all children could experience my childhood. And as a child, I thought they did. But, unfortunately, I now know that they don't. I've been so saddened to learn of  the environments that my students come from. I try very hard to be positive in EVERY situation in my classroom because I am sure that there is someone in my room who does not feel safe, comfortable, and loved when they leave school. I hope that I am and want to be an influence in their lives like all those people were in mine.

Life is Good - and I am SO blessed.