Peanut Buttah

Did you know that today is Peanut Butter Day? Whenever I think of peanut butter, I think of my niece Marie. When she first learned to talk, she had trouble with her "r's", as a lot of children do. She sounded like a little Bostonian, though she's never left the west coast! She didn't really have a temper, she's always been good-natured, but when she was upset with you for any reason, she'd let you know it. Now mind you, she was only about 3 at the most. (This picture was taken around the time I'm thinking of.)


First, let me say this: most of the kids in Michael's family, for a reason I have not been able to figure out, used foul language when they were tiny. They spoke the "bad" words as clear as a bell before they mastered the normal toddler vocabulary. What was even stranger, is they knew "how" and "when" to use them! They were like a bunch of little loggers and nobody could understand why. Their family doesn't curse, at least not like the children had learned to.

Then came Marie. She knew the bad words were bad and she would never say them. In fact, she'd get so excited when the other kids could get through a day without cursing. She'd say, "Momma, Michael Richard didn't call me a 'you-know-what' today!"

This didn't stop her from wanting to call you names if you upset her, though. She'd stomp her little feet and say, "Be nice, you Peanut Buttah! You mean Candy Bah!"

She was(is) very close to her Uncle Mike from the time she was a baby, so it was natural that she attach herself to me. She used to come running across the room to give me a big hug whenever I walked in. One time she even knocked me over!

By the time Michael and I got married, she was 8 years old and Michael Richard was 5. She was so proud to be in the wedding. She'd ask me, "How many more days, Aunty?" I heard that everyday for the entire month of August.

I won't say she's had a hard life, but it hasn't been easy. Her dad committed suicide when she was quite young. I don't think she even remembers him except through pictures. When her sister Stephanie was 3 years old, she died of spinal menangitis. School was always a chore for her. She ended up having to go to a boarding school in Oregon in order to get through high school. She's had to work hard, but she's come a long way.

She's 22 now and we love to embarrass her by bringing up her childhood days. She worked at the school last year and she was an aide in Special Education. The girl she was assigned to tried to tease her and call her a goofball. She mistakingly said, "Marie, you're a gumball."

When Marie told me about it, I asked her, "Did you call her a candy bar?" We had a good laugh at that one. She has an infectious laugh.


She's away from home again and I miss her. I won't see her again until possibly July, unless I find a way to get up north to see her. She's up in Palmer attending Job Corp. I pray she's keeping busy and learning a lot.