My Blessed Childhood

My first memory is staring out the window and seeing the snowfall on a cold December day, 2 weeks before Christmas. I was 16 months old. I also recall the warm fuzzy sky-blue blanket I was wrapped in.

Overall I had a very happy childhood. I had a loving mother and father, and 2 sisters: one a year older than me – Violet, and one a year younger than me – Tanya.

Mommy had schizoaffective disorder with manic depression (bipolar disorder). She is dual diagnosis because she also suffers from alcoholism (a reason my siblings and I never took up drinking).

Her mental illness made life difficult at times (Daddy and her had long drawn out verbal fights/arguments) which were disconcerting and upsetting for us being young children.

Both of my parents were raised Roman Catholic. Our extended family had been Roman Catholic on both sides for at least several hundred years, and likely a good bit longer.

In college, they both became saved (born again) as part of the Jesus Movement which was sweeping the country in the late ’60s and early ’70s. Thus they became Protestant.

My sisters and I were baptized (infant baptism) in the Roman Catholic church. But we were raised in the Protestant faith. I am so thankful to God for regenerating my parents and allowing me to be raised in a loving Protestant community of faith. We attended the Community of the Crucified One in Homestead (a neighborhood in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). That church was led by Edward Donovan known to all as “Eddie”. He was a very loving man and a great Bible teacher.

I have many happy memories of Vacation Bible School. Eating pizza English muffins, and freshly made lemonade. All the little skits put on by the adults made the Bible stories come alive.

Also around Christmas and Easter, I have very fond and warm memories. The Easter Cantata we attended every year was wonderful. Lots of wonderful music too I recall.

I should note that the Community is a charismatic church and Arminian in theology. I didn’t become Reformed in theology until I was an adult in my late 30s.

I have strong disagreements now with Arminian theology, but I absolutely affirm Arminians as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I hope and pray they keep reforming in their theology, and for them to accept Reformed Baptist theology, because I believe that is what Scripture teaches.

I also grew up around many Catholics in my family as I said earlier. I have fond memories of attending mass with my dear Gramma and Aunt (Great) Mary at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in the Southside neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The priest there was Fr. Palick. He was Slovak American. He was fluent in the Slovak language and he said mass in Slovak on occasion. I remember his warm and insightful homilies. He always asked how I was doing, and if I was studying hard in high school, and I recall he always blessed me and told me that Jesus loves me.

I have major disagreements with Roman Catholic theology as a Reformed believer. But I am sure in Heaven we will see many former Catholics there who repented sincerely and believed the gospel; thus becoming part of the Elect who God predestined for salvation before the foundation of the earth.

I was baptized by full immersion (credobaptism – also known as believer’s baptism) at age 10. I had been previously regenerated on Christmas Eve night 1982 at age 7. My credobaptism meant so much to me. It was very special and a joyous occasion to publicly declare my faith in Christ.

Summertime in my childhood was very special. My sisters and I loved swimming at Brentwood Pool. We would spray the hose at each other in our backyard at our beloved childhood home on Meadowbrook. We would get rainbow-flavored snow cones and 2-foot long strawberry licorice ropes from the man who came around in his white van! If we were really well behaved Mommy would like us to buy an ice cream. That was so nice on a hot summer day.

I also recall playing games with our neighborhood kids who were our friends such as Red Rover, Hide and Go Seek, and other games. We were outside from morning till supper time. Our parents gave us freedom to play all over the neighborhood even at age 5. That is incomprehensible to most woke parents of today. They coddle and restrict their children and are overprotective. Their kids are like zombies, addicted to their smartphones. They don’t play outside at all. It’s so sad.

We also visited our grandparents often (both sides). They sure did spoil us! And the food was amazing. Better than any restaurant food. It was food made with love.

During the autumn I have fond memories of jumping into big piles of leaves, playing barefoot in the rain in the streams of water that raced alongside the curbs. We had fun playing inside, watching TV (we got our first color TV when I was 6 years old in 1981), and listening to the soothing rainfall.

Spring was a time for celebrating the renewal of the earth, and especially Easter where we observe the death and resurrection of Christ the Lord. Our parents would get huge Easter baskets, and fill them with goodies, they’d hide them and we had to find our basket. I will never forget the excitement and unbridled joy I had when I found my basket.

Winter was, and still is today, my favorite time of year. We received a lot of snow (much more than we do nowadays sadly). My sisters and I went sled riding in the snow, made snow angels, and made snowmen. Christmas was the joyous time of year to celebrate the incarnation of Christ. He came to earth as a baby born to a virgin girl Mary. He is totally God, and totally Man (dual natures). Decorating our home for the Christmas season was so fun! I recall a huge Santa banner that hung in our kitchen doorway. Mommy would help us make sugar cookies with sprinkles we’d put on top. Great fun!

We got a fresh (live) Christmas tree every year. They were so beautiful. We helped decorate them, us kids. On Christmas Eve we visited my Polish Gramma and Slovak Pap Pap (father’s side of the family). We admired and counted all the homes with Christmas lights and decorations on the way over. Pap Pap always gave each of us kids a big plastic candy cane with M&M’s chocolate candies inside! We received a huge amount of gifts and it was so exciting opening them all. We always had a baked ham my Gramma made, and we had Polish paska bread (egg bread made with raisins), and some Polish dishes such as halushki (egg noodles with sauteed onions and green cabbage), fresh kielbasa (Polish pork sausage), pierogi (dumplings with various fillings such as potato and cheddar cheese), kapusta (sauerkraut mixed with mashed potatoes and slab bacon), kolachi (cookies), nut roll, poppyseed roll, pumpkin pie, minced meat pie, and eggnog.

Then we’d arrive back home, get into our jammies, brush our teeth and we fell soundly to sleep. When we woke up (usually around 6-7 AM) we ran downstairs and were amazed to see a mountain of gifts for us kids. I never had such excitement and sheer joy as I did those many spectacular Christmas mornings. We’d wake up our parents and then start opening our gifts, each child taking their turn opening one gift at a time. These are some of my most cherished and happiest memories of my life.

I didn’t expect to write so much, but it was nice revisiting some of the moments of joy and wonder in my childhood.

I should say that, sadly, my parents divorced when I was 13. Their divorce left deep scars in my psyche, and even now 35 years later, the psychological wounds are still raw, and I have never truly gotten over it. Divorce is truly hell on children.

But at least my sisters and I had many special moments, and cherished memories, of our childhood when we were all a family not fractured.

If you’ve read this far, thanks. Feedback is always welcome.