I have akready spoken about my Linda, but didn't say a word about the kids. All now grown and on their own, there could be no prouder father than I. Robin, the boy, and from my first wife, came to live with us before he was a teen ager. Linda helped me raise him as if he were her own.
Emily, Linda's only child was a hand full from the beginning. Nothing wrong in that, except from the time she could talk and walk, she never met a stranger. When playing in the front, and someone would walk past, she would talk and walk with them right off the property, if we didn't keep a constant eye on her. Solved that be installing a fence at the end of my lawn, she would stop there instead of walking around it and follow the passersby. Emily even toilet trained herself. We had begun to show her, set her on the pot and all, but were suprised when she headed for the bathroom and after some moments, called, "MOM! DAD! Quick come look!" Running to her, not even guessing what was the matter, we saw her looking intently into the bowl, upon seeing us, she smiled broadly, pointed into the tiolet and said proudly, 'It's the letter 'J'!" We fell apart at that. Riding in my truck, toddler Emmers, (my name for her) was fooling around with a tape measure she saw in the seat. "Leave that alone, you're going to get hurt." "No, I know what I'm doing." Three, maybe four years old! Driving along I heard the familiar, zzzzippp, snap! from the tape. Emily tossed it into the seat, and placed one hand over the other. "Got hurt, didn't you?" "No, daddy, I'm just through looking at it." as she raised her hand to her face, and blew on it.
Emily kept us in stiches, quick witted even when very young, she was also mischevious. One time, she found the TV 'troller' as she still refers to today. It was a second device, we used another one. On this occasion, Em hid and while Linda and I looked at some show, the chanel would sudennly change, or the TV would shut off. Each time, Linda or I would grab the troller, and resume watching. This went on long enough for us to wonder if there was something wrong with our set, or the cable. It began to get annoying, that is until Emily gave herself up by laughing.
Around ten years old or so, one of Emily's friends invited her to a father/daughter church function at the local park. We went, played some games, listened about Jesus's Love, and made crafts. During the crafting, multi media, Emily was making a necklace from beads that had letters on them. This was when WWJD? was popular. Some woman , the crafts overseer, what ever, was making her rounds, smiling, patting little heads, and comenting, "Oh, very nice." and other encouragement. Then she walked over to us. Emily's necklace had letters arranged: DJWW. As the woman was prepared to give praise, her face changed, "What's this? Child why would you do such a thing? This is BLASPHAMY!" Emily looked at the woman, who was by this time sure she was in the presance of a devil, and simply asked, "What's wrong with Devil Just Wont Win?" Stunned she was, she straightend up, "Oh, why, nothing, child. I thought that you, uh, it's just that I never thought THAT!" The woman walked on, unsteady, like she had been drinking. Looking at me now, Emily said, "Daddy, let's leave, that lady was weird!"
Poor child, I was angry, we were encouraged to 'use your imagination, express your faith! Here Emily did just that, and was accused of being un-christian. She felt it, hurt by it, and did not accept any other simular invitations.
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