Personal Childhood Web

Kathleen Marks / Mother - My mom has always had my best interests in her mind. She's a strong woman who doesn't take any nonsense that is shoved in her direction. When I was a child, she was a single mother but still made sure that while working, she spent time with me to make sure my growth wasn't stunted for any reason. I was an only child during my most formative years so watching her, watching how she interacted with her environment, that was how I learned to do the same things. It often lead to people telling me how mature I was. My mom wanted to make sure that I knew I was loved no matter what. She brought me to visit my father on the weekends so that I wouldn't miss out on time with him but also made sure to do her best to spend as much of her free time with me as possible. It made me feel like I was worth having around rather than a burden given how she was raising me herself.

Sean Marks / Father - My dad was not around often when I was a child. My parents were split until I turned seven and they remarried, but for the first few years of my life I only truly saw him on the weekends. But he did his best to be a good dad. I was told that when they went to court over custody, he told the judge that I should stay with my mom because she could give me a better life than he ever could. I think that statement alone tells me that he did what he could for me. When I was with him on the weekends, we went out to breakfast together and just spent the days together. He made sure that despite not being around all the time like my mother or my grandparents, that I still got the love and attention that I deserved from him.

Elizabeth Barbarow / Grandmother - My nana is also a strong woman who takes no nonsense. She helped my mother when it came to raising me. I spent much of my childhood with her and my grandfather. During the week, while I was with my mother, my grandparents would watch me for her when she was at work. Many of my childhood hours were spent with her, just spending time with her. Being the first grandchild, I'd say I was seen as special to her simply because I was the first. She likes to say there was something special about me from the moment I was born that had nothing to do with being the first. The older I've gotten, the more she's come to rely on me for things and I think because we formed such a strong bond in my childhood, it made it easier to connect with me as time went on.

Joseph Barbarow / Grandfather - My papa was my world. Everyone likes to tell me the story that when I was first born, this man ( who had not really wanted to be a grandfather yet ) was sold on the whole idea merely because he held me. I hear all the time about how whenever there was a night I was having a hard time sleeping, he would hold me, rock me, walk me around - anything to help me sleep. He often took me for sporadic trips to Boston to shop for clothes. This man was so formative to my childhood years. He showed me nothing but love as I grew up. From letting me sleep on a cot in my grandparent's bedroom instead of in a separate room to those trips he took me on, he was always there when I needed him. Even as I got older he was there. He made me feel like I was worth something. Like even if I was having a low period, I should push forward because there would be a light at the end of the tunnel. Losing him was like losing a part of me.

All of them, even with my grandfather gone, still influence my life because it was the formative years spent with them that has given me the foundation to move forward. The way they spent their time with me and helped me grow, put me on the path I'm on today. And I am eternally grateful to them for that.