As I have promised, this is my first blog on the list. I have made many promises to myself about this year. I have vowed that I am going to take better care of myself physically, I WILL use my facewash, toner, exfoliater, AND moisturizer EVERY night no matter what. I WILL wear my retainers, no matter how dorky they make me feel :) I WILL use a teeth whitener. I WILL eat healthier, NO MORE POP from this point on...AHHH!!! I WILL eat fruit and vegetables EVERY day. I WILL read for at least an hour every night, I need to be getting more into the word of God and I need to be stimulating myself mentally as well as physically. These are a FEW of the many resolutions I have for the year. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THAT!!! On to the subjects of this blog- Edward Patrick Canny and Brenda Joyce Canny (Snyder).
My parents story, like every love story starts out with them separately...so lets talk about these first.
Edward Patrick Canny- My dad is the oldest child of 7. He grew up in a catholic home and all of his brothers and sisters and he as well have names from the Saints in the catholic church. This was a HUGE part of his growing up and to be honest, to hear some of the stories he tells, I just get angry that he had to go through these things. He went to catholic school and he has many stories about the nuns. The nuns would not be kind to the students at all, as a teacher now, the things that they did to their students, I would just plain embarassed and so ashamed of myself, Id never face anyone again. He tells of a nun who had a piece of a rubber hose and if someone talked out in class, they would get lashes with the hose. He tells of a time where there was a girl who spoke out and the nun literally grabbed her by the earring and pulled it out of her ear to the point of bleeding, so that she would "know who was boss". I cant believe that this not only happened, but that in his day, it was completely legal.
My dads father died of complications of diabetes when my dad was in high school, he youngest sister was only 5 years old at the time, my father quickly became the father to all of his siblings, helping his mother as much as he possibly could. My father is one of the most LOVING men you will ever meet in your life. I can promise you that. He had to grow up pretty quickly and I think that many of the things that he went through, while they could have hurt and forever ruined someone else, my dad turned them around and became a better person.
In his growing up years, because he was in a catholic church, he had a very warped sense of God, who he was, and what it really meant to be a Christian. In fact, my dad tells us about confession quite often. He, and many of his friends and family members would base their faith on confession. They did whatever they wanted all week, smoking, drinking, chewing, swearing, etc....as long as on Saturday Night, after Mass, they would go to confession and confess what they had done, then they went out, did it all again and repeated, you know, the whole Rinse and Repeat senario. He never really liked this, he has shared with me, but this was all he knew, this is what he was taught, and so this is what he had to do.
MEANWHILE....About 30 miles away....Brenda Joyce Snyder was living her life.
My mom is number 8 in 9 children. She was actually supposed to be the last child, and then, her sister, Beth, was a little surprise :) This turned out to be perfect for my mother, Beth always has been and always will be her very bestfriend. My Grandma and Grandpa Snyder were a very Christian family, we watched The Waltons ALOT growing up and I like to think that this is a pretty clear picture of what growing up was like for my mom, right down to the fact that her Mothers parents lived in the house with the rest of the family. You get the idea, this house was FILLED with people :) 13 people to be exact! I love hearing stories of how my mom grew up, it just sounds like a wonderful home, Im sure it had its problems, but it sounds great to me. She got to share a room with her sisters and they had slumber parties every night, okay, so my mom says that while she loved her sisters, she always longed for her own room, but I think it sounds ideal!
My moms family was a Christian family. They read the Bible together every night in their home. They went to church whenever the doors were open. Church and God were the most important things to her parents and they made sure it was the most important thing to their children as well. I LOVE that this heritage is such a huge part of who we are today.
My moms father was killed in a freak electrical accident and there was no warning to the family at all. My moms brother was also killed in an accident while he was serving in the Phillipines, he hit a Water Buffalo with his Motorcycle and was instantly killed. My moms sister got lost in a blizzard one night and was found by 2 teenage boys 2 days later. To say that these things affected my mom and her mother in significant ways is an understatement. One of these things would completely devastate and forever change a family FOREVER, but ALL of them happening to the same family, well this is just a glimpse into the strength that my mother has. And the strength she would need for what was next in her life.
My Grandma got breast cancer when my mom was a young adult, and she suffered from it for about 10 years. During this time, my mom worked 3 jobs, and cared for her mother as well. She hired someone to care for her during the days at their home and then every evening, after working her 3 jobs all day, she came home and cared for her mother. The thing is, I have NEVER heard her complain about having to do this. In fact, she is greatful and thankful for the time that she had with her mother. After 10 years, the Breast Cancer had gotten into my grandmas bones and there was nothing more that the doctors could do, she passed away.
My mom had put her life on hold, she had not done anything for herself she had lived her life for her mom.
To say that I have 2 of the most amazing parents EVER is quite an understatement. They really are incredible as you can see by both of their individual stories....but I know you are waiting with baited breath to hear the story of how they met and then you are going to want to know about our lives together....but heres the thing friends...I have a job interview to get to, SO, I will leave you with this for right now and later today, you will here, as Paul Harvey used to say, The REST of the story :)
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