New Season

As of October 17th, I have entered a new decade.....the sixties. Well, in age, anyway. It made me think of the past seasons of my life....where I was at, what I was doing....all the changes over the years. So, here's a little recap from 1949 to 2009.

Season 1: 1949-1959 - Childhood

Just a kid doing kid things, mostly with my cousin Mary who is just 6 months older than I am. Her mother and my mother were sisters and her father and my father were brothers....double cousins.....and we just lived about 1/4 a mile from each other. My brother is 3 years younger and my sister is 4 years younger, and they played with each other usually.

The Barbie doll was introduced in 1959 and I had one. Too bad I don't still have that Barbie in her original package in vintage condition. Sure wasn't thinking about that then.

I surrendered my life to Jesus and followed Him in baptism in 1958.

I had a boyfriend in the 4th grade......last boyfriend I had until Gary Wallace. :(

Season 2: 1960-1969 - My teens.

This decade included moving from Glidewell Elementary School (which was our little 1st-4th grade school in the Willard R-2 District) to Willard Elementary in the 5th grade. Like going from high school to college. The next eight years were not the happiest I ever spent. I was such a shy and nervous child through those years.....junior high and high school were the worst. I was uncomfortable speaking to anyone unless they spoke to me first. I felt like the person inside me was much friendlier and more fun than the person I was at school. I just couldn't figure out how to be that person in public. I was always comparing myself to the popular, pretty girls and falling way short. That just made me more introverted. I played a clarinet in band for two years, then dropped out. The best part of high school was volleyball. I played all four years and loved it.

Thankfully, my mom kept us in church, so I had friends and was involved there. Too bad I didn't realize at the time that my identity is not in what I do or what I look like or how many people like me. My identity is in Christ, who loves me so much He died for me on the cross...who is my Redeemer, my Savior, my King of Kings and Lord of Lords. How many times have I said, "If I had only known then, what I know now..."

This decade also included getting married. Whoa...in 10 years I have gone from the 5th grade to my first anniversary of marriage. (I did a post about our courtship last year sometime)

Season 3: 1970-1979 - My 20's.

This was the decade to have babies. So, in 1969, after being married a year in August, we decided to have a child. Our first, Gary Todd, was born in April, 1970. Second was Matthew Paul, born August 26, 1972, then Wendy Rebekah, born March 28, 1975. I stayed home with the children...mainly because that's what Gary wanted, but also I wouldn't make anything after paying a babysitter.

We not only welcomed our children into this world...we said good-by to my daddy, 2 grandpa's and an uncle as they departed this life.

Also in this decade, we moved the little 10x56 trailer we lived in at a trailer park to 20 acres on Farm Road 64, that my parents gave us. Then in July, 1972, one month before Matt was born, we moved into a 24x48 double wide mobile home.

We continued to add to our stock of quarter horses. Gary's dad gave each of the kids a colt. So we all had our own horse to ride plus some others along the way.

Season 4: 1980-1989 - My 30's.

In 1979 we sold our double wide and built our first house on the same property. These were the playing years. Gary and I both played softball. Sometimes on separate teams, sometimes on co-ed teams. I played some volleyball at the Y and in a church league. The boys started playing baseball and basketball in the 1st grade at the Boys' Club. Wendy started playing softball in the 3rd grade in the Willard league.

These were such fun years....Gary and I finally quit playing ball because the kids were so involved in school and sports. We were either at church or a ball game any given day of the week. The boys played American Legion Baseball in the summer and Wendy played on a traveling fast-pitch softball team.

I started working part-time at Glidewell Elementary School as the cook. I worked 9-11 am each day during the school year 1981-82. This was a transition year for the school district as they were getting ready to close the school and move the students to Willard. So, I needed to find another job. The custodian at Glidewell had a relative who taught sign language. I was interested in learning to sign, so I took a class from her. She worked at Associated Wholesale Grocers and gave me a reference for a job there. They hired me to work part-time in the shuttle office, but eventually I went full-time to Accounts Payable, then to Produce, then to Human Resources as Secretary to the Director, where I stayed for the next 11 years.

Because of learning ASL, the Harmonettes invited me to go with them and interpret in sign language some of their songs. Truly a blessed experience and precious memory in my life.

It just so happened that at this time Gary was promoted to Supervisor at Southern Missouri Containers, where he had worked since January, 1976, but he had to work nights. This was a tough time, because we hardly saw each other. I worked days and he worked nights. Yuch! He did get to leave work and go to the kids's ball games, then go back to work. He worked this schedule for 3 years before he went to day shift.

In this decade, we also saw our oldest, Todd, graduate from Willard High School. The same high school we had graduated from 21 years earlier.

Season 5: 1990-1999 - My 40's

Matt graduated from Willard in 1990 and Wendy in 1993. So, now all the kids are out of high school and started in college. This decade brings the marriage of our daughter, Wendy and the birth of her first child, Lucas. It also brought the death of my mother and Gary's father, 3 months apart in 1994. Our church was burned by an arsonist in 1993. We rebuilt in a new location and began experiencing revival and growth. I left AWG to work at Hamlin Memorial Baptist Church as the pastor's secretary in 1993. Then I left there in 1995 to be our pastor's secretary at Springhill Baptist Church.

Season 6: 2000-2009 - My 50's

This decade has been a whirlwind of grandkids. In this decade, both boys married and 9 more grandchildren were born - Bailey, Gavin, Micah, Ruth Ann, Jadon, Haven, Jude, and Cael. We said good-bye to one of them, little Karis Rose Wallace who was stillborn on August 29, 2003.

In January, 2000 I had two surgeries, two weeks apart. While I was off work, I really became convinced that I should leave my job and find a part-time job so that I could be available to help with any grandkids that might need me. I left in April, set up an office in my home and began working for Global Encounter Ministries (www.globalencounter.org) , allowing me to babysit for four of our grandchildren, Jadon, Haven, Jude and Cael when needed. Thank you, Bob and Joy Caldwell, for this incredible job opportunity.

Next Season - My 60's TBD

This is such an abbreviated account of my life -- all 60 years of it...all 720 months.... 3,120 weeks... 21,900 days... 525,600 hours.... 31,536,000 minutes...........

Donna