50 years ago today" March 7th ,1962-March 7th, 2012"

I was living in Texas in the early 60's and was a young girl fresh out of high school who had grown up in rural Ky. I had always been a shy girl and now I was trying to shed some of this and try new things. This was a time of new beginnings- doing things on my own and learning as I went. I found a friend -girlfriend and she and I went together to the dances held at legion hall in Galveston Tx. This was a city that had many ships come to port and sailors on shore leave who came to the dances. I met many young guys in their cute "uniforms"- who can resist such a sight, not me...I had never danced before, had never dated and now it felt like heaven to have the attention I was getting. I was anxious to find a young man - to marry- have children and get on with thing called life. In the 60's this was what was expected of young girls. I had no wish to higher learning (college) or a job that would have earned "the big bucks". I felt my life was to become a wife and mother and so there in Galveston Tx I was married to a young sailor in 1961. Within a few months I was with child and he was finished with his tour of service and we were headed to Ga (his hometown). Now I had not thought far enough ahead to the fact that we would leave Tx and my family there and I would go where I knew no one. I had not given myself time to even get to know this young man long before we were married and now I was in a strange land and I felt (lost) many times. I am the type of girl that when things change I try to change with them and to learn what is around me so I became friends with my new mother-in-law and she became like a 2nd mother to me. Within months I became a new mother myself...March 7, 1962...Joseph Mark was born. we chose the name Joseph for his father and Mark gave to him by his father saying -this was his mark on the world... Today on his birthday I am remembering his young life and how I became a little more mature as I did the "mommy things". Babies take a lot of work but they are so cute and the first few years they learn so much as we teach them. My little one did all the normal things. He went from baby foods to big boy foods, he became potty trained, he learned to walk and talk. I was a proud mom. As a senior citizen now and Mom to a son who is fifty today, I can hardly believe where all the years have gone. We want things to move along quickly when we are young and then as we get older we realize that they moved too fast. I think we must all regret some of our choices in life but I can only hope and pray that when he is my age he will look back with good memories as I do today.."Happy Birthday Joe" Love Mom