I was OK being who I am

I was raised by all women. My family is from Kiev Ukraine. I was the first generation born here but I was raised in the household with my grandmother, my mother, my two ants and my sister. I didn’t have a father figure or any male figure in my life. And growing up I was comfortable sewing and cooking and doing a lot of feminine, I guess you could say, projects. I felt really inadequate when I was about 12, 13 with my friends who had fathers. They were working on cars and things like that. I felt really separated and different from them. I felt almost guilty that I didn’t have those skills and that skill set that they had. I felt bad about it. It wasn’t until later that I was OK being who I am and it’s OK to have the talents that I do have, the crafts that I can do. I learned to appreciate them and who I am and how I was raised. I was raised well and I love my family. They did a good job and I’m happy with myself.

I have Fudggy. He was a little stuffed animal brown dog. I still have him in a box somewhere. He kept me company, he was my little buddy. It was somebody there. I had him with me when I watched television or read or when I fell asleep.