My Personal Childhood Web

The people listed below were very special to me in my childhood and they are still influencing me today. I will talk about how they influenced my life as a child, how they nurtured me, cared about me, and how they made me feel special. I will also discuss how their influence still affects my life today.

Christine

Christine is my mother. She is also one of my role models. When I was growing up, I always wanted to be just like her. I loved watching her teach her students and seeing her passion when she was teaching. Seeing how she cared for them as much as she cared for me, my sister, and my brother. She encouraged me to persue my goal as an educator. She still to this day encourages me to do my best and reach for my goals even when I feel like giving up. She has always been there when I needed her and has really taught me a lot about being a caring and loving mother to my own children. She taught me that as a mother you could still have hopes and dreams and still raise a family while achieving those dreams. If I had to use one word to describe her, it would be "Encourager".

George

George is my father. Most of my younger childhood, my father was a stay at home dad. He was laid off work so he was the one who took care of us when my mother was at work. He loved to cook and shared that passion with us. He encouraged my siblings and me to use our imagination and encouraged us to figure things out for ourselves. He was in a sense for me, my protector. I always felt when I had a problem I could go to him with it. He would not solve the problem for me all the times, but he would help me come up with a solution. I knew that he would do anything for his children and he still would. I feel blessed to have a father that I can count on and know that he will always be there for me. If I had to use one word to describe him, it would be "Protector".

Donald

Donald was my grandfather. I was very lucky growing up to know all my grandparents. Grandpa Hart was the one I was closest to. In his eyes, I could do no wrong. He was a Marine and you could tell in his eyes that he had seen many things in his life. I loved going over to his house and spending the day with him. We would take walks in the woods and go fishing. He was an outdoorsman. I got my love of nature from him. When I think about him, I get this picture of him sitting at the picnic table under the big tree at his house. As he would call it, he was "holding down the fort". He would always have a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other. I never thought anything of it, because that was typical for him. I remember when, in school we learned that smoking and drinking were bad for your health. I remember going to him and telling him that he needed to stop drinking and smoking. I made posters, wrote letters to him, and even told him that I would stop talking to him. I was too young to realize that I could not make him stop but I tried my hardest. He just laughed and told me it was ok he was allowed to do those things. This was a big influence in my life. I vowed that I would never smoke. The hardest part of this story is that during my senior year of high school he was diagnosed with tongue cancer. The doctors could not operate; they gave him only months to live. I remember the anger I felt, and the pain I felt. He tried to joke and laugh about the situation. Throughout that year, I watched this strong man waste away to nothing. He passed away three days after I graduated high school. I still think about what he would say or think when I do things in my life. Even though he is gone, he is still influencing my life. I talk to my children about the importance of not smoking. The one word that I would use to describe him would have to be "Jokester".

Bev

Bev was my babysitter. Her family lived on a farm. She also lives right beside the fire hall where my father was a volunteer firefighter. So when there was a call, we would all get in the car and go with him to the fire hall then walk across the yard to her house. I spent half my childhood on that farm. I remember sitting on the bench in the barn watching them milk cows. I remember learning different things on the farm and how it was very hard work. She was like a second mother to me. She is still a big part of my life. She comes to my children's birthday parties. She talks about how my oldest daughter looks just like me. The main thing I think about when I think about her is the farm and her crafts. She was always making something while I was there. There are times that I think about what would Bev think about this decision, or what would she say? The one word I think of when I think of her is "hard-worker".

Clay

Clay was one of my Sunday school teachers. He was and still is a huge member of the church. He was like a father to me growing up. He was a Marine and a jokester just like my grandfather. I think that is why I have a connection to him. He always reminded me of my grandfather. He was always there at church and always making sure, I was doing ok. Today he still does the same thing. The first thing he does when he see me is gives me a huge hug and asks me how I am doing. In church today, he is the "grandfather" figure to all the young ones that come. It is a wonderful feeling knowing that my children get to know a wonderful loving and caring man. My youngest calls him "Papa K" since she cannot say Clay yet. Her face lights up when she sees him and she runs to him and gives him a hug and kiss. It is a wonderful feeling seeing not only my children but also all the young ones go to him and feel comfortable with him. The one word that comes to mind when I think of him is "Hugger" because that is the first thing he does when he sees my children or me.

The title of a children’s book I love and what I love about it

Over and Over by Charlotte Zolotow.  I loved this book as a child and now as a parent. My mother used to read it to me over and over, now I am doing the reading over and over to my children. This book follows a young girl through the seasons and all the different holidays that happen throughout the year. She is so young she cannot remember what comes next but does remember some things but they are all jumbled up in her head. Throughout this book the little girl keeps asking her mother “What comes next?” and the mother always tells her. As a mother I know all too well that question, my own children ask me this question at least once a day. This is a wonderful book that illustrates how children think and how their imagination works.

Zolotow, C. (1957). Over and Over. New York: Harper & Row Publishers

A story about a child that touched your heart

I have many stories of children that have touched my heart. The one that really stands out is about one of my cousins. She is victim of shaken baby syndrome. She was just a few weeks of age, her mother was at work and her father was at home taking care of her. One thing led to another and he did the unthinkable without realizing it. The mother was called at work and came home. They took the young girl to the hospital. She was Life-Flighted to Pittsburgh Hospital. The diagnosis was grim. They were told she might not even make it and if she did she would never walk, talk or do anything. The mother never gave up hope. She believed that God would take care of everything and that they would get through this and her child would make the impossible happen. After many years of therapy, doctor appointments and prayers this little girl walked her mother down the aisle without any aide, to begin a new life with a supportive stepfather. Every time my family sees this “Miracle Child” walking, talking and succeeding in school, we are reminded how we almost lost her but she was strong enough to endure the worst. I remind myself; this little girl who was given no chance to survive has survived and proves everyone wrong every day. She gives everyone who knows her or hears her story hope, that if she has gone through all of this and still succeeds so can we.

Introduction

This is the first my first attempt at a blog.

Thought I would introduce myself again.

My name is Alison Carson. I am a proud mother of three children ages 6 years old, 3 years old, and almost 2 years old.

In October of 2007 I started working for Community Services of Venango County in their Early Head Start Program as a Home Visitor. As a Home Visitor, I had a caseload of nine to twelve families. My goal was to teach the parents/caregivers that they were their child’s first and best teacher. In April of 2010, our agency expanded into another county and I became the Program Supervisor/Education Coordinator for the new county. I supervise six home visitors who serve seventy-two slots. Slots are either pregnant women or children birth to three years. As a Home Visitor and as a Program Supervisor/Education Coordinator we need to be careful about how we treat our families. We have to learn about their cultures and their beliefs so we can better serve them.

I feel that being part of an online program will let me fulfill my duties as a student, a working professional and as a mother of three young children. I can work it into my schedule so I can still work and take care of my family while I am earning my Master’s degree.