Childhood memories....

I was looking at some origami that a friend of mine (Jenny Jones) had made for me above and recall with great sentimentality that Jenny would make these for me!

I have loved origami for years, going back to 1969 or 1970 when I was 9 years old, or nearly so,  At this time, my mother and father played host for the Imlay City Lions Club to a gentleman (Mr. Miyahari) from Japan who was a member of the Lions Club in his Japanese hometown.

Mr. Miyahari stayed with us for a weekend perhaps.  I had the flu when he was with us and he was very concerned for me and he made me a purple origami lily.  I was enchanted with this paper flower.

My grandmother Dorothea Tellis took this origami lily away from me very shortly after Mr. Miyahari left.  She thought I wouldn't take care of it and she took it from me.  She kept it for over 20 years...it wasn't until 1992 when we were cleaning out her house for selling that I  took the orgami lily back.  She never knew that at age 31 I retrieved a gift to me from a far-away friend and I wonder that I waited  23 years to get the courage to take it back.  My grandmother abused my mother and her sibblings as she did most of her grandchildren...she was a emotionally-starved person and couldn't accept love without conditions...I never kissed her butt so I knew the venom of her words from an early age...however, when she died on New Year's Day 1996 I was bereft and cried and cried.  Life sucks sometimes...I loved her and she scarred my memories with the things she has done to me as a child.  I have moved on, and I forgive her.  :)