My Cousin was my Sister; All Hillbillies are Related

I gave birth to my first born on this day over 4 decades ago. He was not born in the heart of the Ozarks but we got him there before he was two months old. That offically makes him a true hillbilly. His daddy was more hillbilly than most. To keep the facts straight, yep, I was still a teenager when I had him, that is what is expected of Ozark Hillbilly women, right?

His daddy didn't stay around too long but I didn't make it to where he felt welcomed either. Because it appears I have a huge following on this blog now, I won't use names. We ALL know every Hillbilly is related to every other hillbilly in the world. Until today, I don't think anyone knew I was female. Oh, the secrets we can't keep.

MK was a joy to my life after we moved into the heart of the Ozarks, that kid loved the water. We would go to the lake or White River, he would be tearing at his diaper and running for the water before I could shout, "Wait for me!" He had very long, curly blond hair. In the water, the other swimmers and their kids were......"aww, she is so cute." When he exited and they saw "she" was a "he" I got more lectures from stangers than I ever did from my family. I made sure we swam a LOT! Like I said before, I didn't like to rock the boat but if it was going to be rocked, I was going to make sure it was swampped!

My cousin, LJH, was my best friend, as earlier mentioned, until she reached high school and I was left with a younger crowd. She also lived next door to my grandmother, which made her more like a sister than my cousin because we spent so much time together. This week my son will celebrate his life with his friends and family. I hope he is happy and his life is rich and full. This week Dick Clark died and he was in large part, how I learned to dance, with my cousin, LJH.

Today is a sad rememberence on many levels. Some Hillbillies can be hard on their kids. My life choices made life hard on my son. He will celebrate his adult mid-life without me being a part of it, as happens in some families. My sister cousin, LJH, passed away many years ago, much too young. She taught me to dance, how to dress up, and how to make hot Dr. Pepper with lemon seem like an elegant martini. I miss them both and fair sailing to Dick Clark, who taught America to dance.