About the Author
I grew up on a farm in Mitchell County, GA. My Dad was a sharecropper. Times may have been hard, but I did not realize it since we always had what was needed. I was the fifth child born to the family of seven children. On the farm, everyone worked in the field and garden. Over the years, our dad tried growing different crops for market such as watermelons and cucumbers, tobacco, cotton, corn and peanuts. There was always something to do. The abundant harvest from our huge vegetable garden fed our family all year long.
We attended Greenwood Free Will Baptist Church on Sundays. This was a priority. One thing I could count on was getting a new dress and new shoes for Easter Sunday. We also got new clothes and new shoes when school started each year. Money was tight so we siblings never learned to swim, skate, or ride a bicycle. I learned to drive a car after I got married.
As I look back, reading was not something that I enjoyed that much. I don’t remember seeing books in our home. My family taught us to work hard and to be honest. I guess that spilled over into anything I tried to do. With that in mind, I did my best to make good grades in school, and I enjoyed grammar and arithmetic. In high school, I did well on book reports and essays. I enjoyed writing, and I excelled in math. I attended grades one through the tenth grade at Hopeful School in Mitchell County, GA. The schools consolidated, and I graduated from Mitchell County High School located in Camilla, GA in 1963. I did not go to college, because my family could not afford to send me. I worked as a cashier in a grocery store and put my math skills to good use. After seven years of working as a cashier, I worked for a bank for twenty-five years, also, using my math skills.
While working at the bank, I decided to attend Bainbridge College to improve my typing. After taking typing, I decided I might as well get an associate degree in secretarial science. Classes in English 101 and 102 were required for that degree. In these classes, I had writing assignments, and I was reminded of those school days when I had enjoyed writing. I thought about this from time to time, but I was too busy working and taking care of my family. I did not have time to write.
I retired recently, having worked twenty-five years in banking and eight years as an office manager. My goals for retirement are to take better care of myself and to write. The first goal was easy to slip into. The second goal has been both challenging and rewarding. I had been encouraged to write by family and friends who told me that I missed my calling. It came naturally for me to write about my newfound love for my rabbits first. My husband, Jerry, and I live in Bainbridge, Georgia where we are active members of First Baptist Church. We enjoy taking care of the rabbits and spending time in the mountains. We have two grown sons and four grandchildren.