Virtute.org

My friend Erin has been writing about her childhood and as I’ve enjoyed reading her blog post, I’ve thought I ought to write my own.

Maybe the best place to start is with a short description of my parents.  (I copied the pictures from a little book my mother made me, so they’re not ideal)

In many ways my parent’s upbringing couldn’t have been more different.

My dad was an only child. All four of his grandparents were Lithuanian immigrants. His father, Leo Joseph Bird, was a heavy drinker and smoker who died of lung cancer when my dad was only 7. So for most of his life he was raised by his widowed mother. He recalls living above a bar as a child and watching the drunken men stumble out and deciding that he would never drink alcohol. His father’s death was traumatic. He said he saw his father coughing up blood and running from room to room trying to hide what was happening from his son. My dad grew up in PA. He became interested in agriculture at a young age, through 4-H I think. In his twenties he started to investigate a variety of churches. As he learned about each sect of religion, he would study the Bible to find passages that conflicted with the beliefs of each church. While trying to disprove the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, he had a spiritual experience which changed his direction and he stopped trying to disprove it and started learning the doctrine of the church. He was later baptized. None of his family joined and I think my grandmother was unhappy about his decision.  <<Don’t you just love the suit?!  My mom now helps him with his wardrobe>>

My mother on the other hand was a descendant of Mormon Pioneers and raised in a  big family with both of her  parents. She was the second oldest of 7 Children (3^rd of 8 if you count the sister who died before she was born). My grandpa worked for the military and they moved around a lot. Mom was born in Idaho Falls and graduated from High School in Idaho Falls, but her family moved several times between her birth and graduation. Being raised in a big religious family like I was, I suspect our upbringing was fairly similar in several important ways.

The details are all from my memory, so if I’m off a little or not as descriptive, now you know why!