BTW isn't it cool for Hattie to say "growing up with" rather than "raising" her children? I really respect that.
Hattie Lee Ellerbe
Growing Up with My Children
March 11, 2010
Karen Leslie was the first-born. It seems that it took a long time for her to speak in sentences. She always had whatever she wanted and was quite satisfied. As she grew up and started school, her first grade teacher was concerned that Karen stayed to herself and did not seem to know any of her classmates. When I looked around the classroom I saw most of the children were our neighbors and often stayed at our house.
Once I thought I would punish Karen for being stubborn. I said, “You cannot go to the movies.” I paid a neighbor to take her to the movies most Saturdays. I said, “Go to your room!” I felt badly about it, but I had to “punish” her.
Karen told me years later that she loved to go to her room, be alone and play with her many, many toy and we thought she was miserable.
Five years later, Kevin came along and he was a bright, beautiful baby. He got a lot of attention and Karen seemed to like him okay but she still had her space and she didn’t have to share anything with him.
Kevin demanded his space and when he didn’t get it he would cry. He was a cute boy and had lots of love. I will write more about him sometime. When he was a year and eleven months, here comes his baby brother Keith.