Here are my parents. Grandma and Poppa. Actually Great Grandparents now! They both graduated from high school but had just barely turned 18 and 20 when they got married in 1962. My Grandmother had to sign the paperwork for my Dad to get married because he was not yet 21. No one needed to sign for Mom because she was 18. Strange but true. How could they ever know what lie ahead of them? Talk about unpredictable!

To start with my Dad got sick on the honeymoon. Boy did he get the razzing when he finally returned to work because he called off additional sick days because he had the flu or strep throat! It’s the 60’s JFK is President, there is Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missal Crisis, we also start the space program, there is unrest in the south and segregation is still legal. Like most people in the 60’s they start a family right away and my brother is born 4 weeks before their first anniversary, they are all of 19 and 21 now. He is one month old when the president is shot and killed in Texas. This is life the 60’s. Unpredictable indeed.

Roughly 2 years later they leave everything they know and move “up north” to make a living. My timeline may be a little off but I am pretty close. There wasn’t much work where they lived and the mills were busy. Remember they are only 21 and 23 now, and a small son in tow. My Aunt and Uncle were in N.W. Indiana which made it slightly easier, but I can not imagine how both exciting and scary that had to be. All they knew was that they loved God, they loved each other, and they wanted more opportunities for their son and any other children they might have. So off they went. A 6 hour drive from where they grew up without the communication we have today. You had to be able to read a map to get where you were going. No GPS. You didn’t have a cell phone in your car so if something happened on the road you had to walk to a gas station, use a pay phone and pray that someone was home to answer the phone so you could tell them you needed help. Once they were moved phone calls back home were long distance, which meant expensive so they were planned and they were brief. I don’t know about you but I would be very homesick.

Adventurous or dumb? I really believe they were naïve however, they were so self reliant and determined to do well that they did. Lets not take God out of the picture totally. He will and does look after his own. I believe in this case he did but in part because they didn’t take off of willy nilly. There was a plan. Maybe not the most of solid plans. My Uncle who was the one that was supposed to have a job lined up… well…ummm, he wasn’t the most reliable guy. However, at that time a man who would work hard and had a good head on his shoulders could go to N.W. Indiana/Chicagoland area find a job and make a good living for his family. And dad did. We might not have been the most wealthy family but we had a roof over our head, clothes on our backs, and food in our bellies.

I share this part of their story because of Martin Luther King Jr. day was Monday. Dad started working in N.W. Indiana, lived in Gary and his Polish neighbor did not like all of these “Hillbillies” coming up here and taking their jobs. First generation Polish people whose accents were so thick it was hard to understand them would give southern people a hard time for leaving the south to work in the trades. How unpredictable is that? I was amazed when my Mom recently shared that story with me. People who had also left their homes for a better life were now upset with my parents and others for doing the exact same thing.

To say I am proud of them is an understatement. Here however, is the reality of 2020. They aren’t in their 20’s anymore. We talk about very different things now than we used to and they are things no one wants to discuss. I know where the paperwork is for “when the time comes.” The flu/strep throat could land one of them in the hospital, a big move out of their home now would mean I have finally talked them into moving in with me before they need to OR that something has happened and they need to. And the little boy? He is now a Grandpa and lives on the East coast.

Somethings that remain the same, life is still unpredictable. Our President has been Impeached and people don’t seem to get along any better than they did in the 60’s, just watch the 10:00 PM news. Many people have a scarcity mentality and may not help you climb the ladder at work. The one ting that remains the same for us anyway is that we are still believing in God to take care of us as He always has in this unpredictable life.

Who am I? I am the reason they never left. You see actual plan was to move up north, make lots of money, and move back home. (or so I’ve been told) But then they had me! A little girl, and they haven’t had any money since. LOL. Plans don’t always go the way you plan them, be prepared for the unexpected/unpredictable, have conversations now, and love each other while you have each other. Because if there is one things I know for sure, this life sure is unpredictable and I love those crazy kids!