Sitting outside on the porch at night brings back a lot of memories. Watching the lightning bugs blinking across the yard. As a young child I used to catch several and put them in a pint jar, set them in my bedroom at night, and drift off to sleep watching them blink and light up like Christmas lights.

I’d like to say I consider myself to have had a blessed childhood. Now these blessings include some good, and well, might I say, some not-so-good times. My parents were somewhat lenient, but at the same time, they were very strict.

One thing for sure was respect in our home, especially to Mommy. We knew better to backtalk or sass her. It didn’t take us long to learn a lesson if we disobeyed that rule. One of the not-so-good times we would experience if we didn’t take heed to that rule. Need I say more?

Another rule in our home, “I’ll tell you once and you better listen,” that's what Daddy told us often. As long as we listened, we were good, but it’s the time we didn’t listen that wasn’t pleasant, if you know what I mean. You’d think after a few times, we would learn a hard lesson. Those lessons seemed to live short in our minds, before long we were reminded all over again.

When Daddy was gone to work, I’m sure sometimes we tried Mommy’s patience. I guess my brothers and I thought we didn’t have to behave when Daddy wasn’t home. We would misbehave to the limit when Mommy would say, “Wait until your Daddy gets home and I’ll let him take care of you.” Well by that time, we knew we had gone too far in our rambunctious ways. My Mommy had the best memory ,I do believe; she never forgot to tell Daddy when he came home about our misbehaving. Let me just say that was not the lenient time I was referring to earlier.

Mealtime when Mommy called to come and eat, you best get yourself to the table. There was no waiting, “I’ll eat later,”no, you ate when mommy called.
We would eat the meal she cooked for us, no going to the fridge for a snack. No, that just didn’t happen at our house. You either ate the meal she prepared or wait until the next meal. And by the way, there were three cooked meals a day. Remember I said there were some good blessings, Mom’s meals are what I’m talking about!

Saturday was a great day for us kids. That’s the day Mommy and Daddy went to the grocery store to get needed supplies. But, what was special is the fact that each of us kids got a soda pop, usually an RC Cola and sometimes a bag of peanuts to put in the RC Cola, yum, you talk about good, yes it was!

Sunday’s were always set aside for church. We would wake up each Sunday morning to the gospel music show on the television, Jubilee. I can still remember and seemingly hear The Florida Boys singing, Jubilee, jubilee, you’re invited to that happy jubilee. After a good hefty breakfast off to church we would go.

I’ll forever be grateful for my upbringing as a child. I’ve done a lot of things in my life and have had a lot of experiences, some good, some not so good.  But, the one thing I am grateful for is my childhood!

The song that comes to my mind is Supper Time.

Many years go in days of childhood
I used to play till evening’s shadows come
Then winding’ down that old familiar pathway
I’d hear my mother call at set of sun.

Come home, come home, it’s suppertime
The shadows lengthen fast
Come home, come home it’s suppertime
We’re going home at last.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6