Shannon's First Communion
The 27th Short Story
The Girls, Part 1: The Oldest Daughter
"The Girls, Part 1: The Oldest Daughter"
ANDY'S LESSONS FROM LIFE
My 27th Short Story
With this rendition of my life, you'll get a chance to learn more about Shannon, our oldest daughter. The earlier portion of this story is an introduction and is the same as provided with the second part of "The Girls" about our youngest daughter, Colleen.
"The Girls, Part 1: The Oldest Daughter"
“Raising children is one of the most important and challenging undertakings chosen by a grownup.”
--Andy Skrzynski
Couples face lots of very difficult choices in life, but few are more impactful than helping children learn the best way to deal with the world in which they live. More often than not, during the earliest stages of parenthood, unexpected mishaps confirm our ignorance in handling such endeavors. Fortunately, the amazing hugs, broad smiles, and joyful sparkles in our children’s eyes help us overcome those misgivings.
Around the time of my separation from my second wife in the mid-1980s, I concluded it was time to settle down a bit and entertain the thought of raising children. My dear friend, Bonnie, who still lived in Michigan at the time, had been divorced for a couple of years and her daughters were still quite young.
Shannon, the oldest, was six, going on 12 in her mind. Colleen enjoyed the delightful world of a four-year-old to the fullest.
Before long, Bonnie and I began a long-distance relationship. During that interesting but trying period, while living 1200 miles apart, I would stop by Canton, Michigan on my flights back home to Texas. At that time, I was fulfilling my duties in transferring a project from IBM Kingston, New York to my homebase in Austin.
Bonnie and I always made the best of those weekend hops, playing with the girls in the park or out at the lake, while fitting in romantic flings after we tucked the girls into bed. Following a few bumps along the way, the relationships among the four of us blossomed quite well.
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I wanted children, the little girls were thrilled at the thought of having a full-time daddy, and Bonnie didn’t mind a helping hand in raising two young kids.
So, within less than two years of developing our bonds, we got married, and “Our Family” set out on the adventure of our lifetimes. As would be expected, we had a few growing pains, while we tested each other and learned how best to live in some form of harmony. It was a grand time in my life, when I positively loved being a part of The Girls’ lives and them being part of mine.
With marriage plans in the making, I found a wedding band that symbolized my devotion to ALL three girls -- my beautiful wife, Shannon, and Colleen. The lovely trio would remain a significant part of my life until the day I died. That magnificent ring contained three sparkly diamonds, clustered side-by-side at the top of the golden halo around my finger -- the perfect reminder of my commitment.
"The Oldest Daughter"
Of our two girls, Shannon was definitely the more challenging, during her younger years. This wasn’t a total surprise.
Bonnie had shared many stories of her oldest daughter's shenanigans over the years. My dear friend and I remained long-distance buddies well before and after the rambunctious little girl became a gleam in her parents’ eyes.
After Bonnie’s divorce and our subsequent marriage, a couple of years later, Shannon and I started off on rocky footing. It wasn’t that she was bad or didn’t like me; it was more that the strong-willed girl preferred being her own boss. Brimming with a rebellious attitude, she seemed hell-bent on testing my authority as her parent at every turn.
Stubbornness was a trait Shannon inherited from her mother and grandpa, and she was determined to do things “her way.” Unfortunately for her, she was unaware that I had plenty of practice dealing with such battles of willpower. I helped raise three stepbrothers and sisters, who were born while I was in junior high and high school.
Because of her innate stubbornness, Shannon was in the doghouse much more than her younger sister, during those earlier years of adjustment. At first, I gave her a little slack, since she and I were getting used to each other in a new environment, but this only served to reinforce her rebellions.
Such a reaction required a change in tactics. The good thing for Bonnie and I was that we agreed up-front that we would fully support each other in our methods of discipline -- one way or another.
We chose not to resort to spanking as a primary deterrent, though it was not ruled out entirely if matters ever grew serious. Our most preferred method of dealing with behavior that strayed from our desires was to withhold a privilege that the girls treasured most, until they behave better.
Informing the girls that they could no longer play with a favorite toy or game worked like a charm for most infractions. It’s amazing how quickly the girls would straighten up whenever they were told they could no longer play with their Gameboys. From the wailing and sobbing that ensued after such proclamations, you’d have thought we had condemned them to death.
While this method worked most of the time, Shannon would slip into the realm of more serious behavior challenges on rare occasions. She suffered a good deal of emotional turmoil after an annual event, outside our foursome family unit.
Unfortunately, she chose to lash out at her sister or others in school as her method to release such tensions. Being bigger and stronger than other kids near her age, she’d sometimes get too rough with a couple of the children.
Of course, this was one of those situations that could not be tolerated, and I resorted to spanking Shannon on those rare occasions. To be clear, I always swatted her with my bare hand while she was fully clothed.
I didn’t use a strap or paddle because I wanted to feel exactly how hard I was spanking her. I used two to three swats with my palm to let her know how it felt to physically “hurt” someone else.
Then, I’d leave her in her bed to think about her offense and subsequent punishment -- usually overnight. A remarkable reaction followed such punishment.
The next morning, Shannon emerged from her bedroom as the nicest little girl you could ever imagine. Better yet, she’d wrap her arms around me and apologize. Realizing her outbursts were wrong, she sincerely wanted to let me know she understood.
It took another one or two of these annual events before such outbursts disappeared, but thankfully she learned to control her tendency to lash out. As she grew older, she channeled that pent-up energy into physical activities in school and other extracurricular sports, such as shotput, discus throw, softball, and basketball.
We were thrilled when she decided to join the Pflugerville High School band. She’d marched up and down the fields during practice and football games, while lugging and playing her huge baritone sax, second only to the massive tuba in size.
Bonnie and I would travel from one game to another and witness the spectacular Panther band. Full of pride, our daughter blew her horn, while marching in formation in her glorious blue and gold uniform.
Almost one fourth of Pflugerville High School students participated in their remarkable band, and their 500-strong members could challenge some of the larger college bands across the land. Their fantastic performances led them to state-wide competitions in the Texas Longhorn stadium, the Alamodome in San Antonio, and many other great facilities. Between Shannon’s band performances and Colleen’s cheerleading competitions, Bonnie and I never lacked for grand entertainment.
Over time, Shannon’s earlier rough beginnings turned into a closeness beyond my expectations. This strong-willed daughter and I became great buddies during and after her high school years.
We loved going to movies together or playing in Texas hold 'em poker tournaments. Prior to such events, we’d typically chat over dinner at Branch BBQ, north of Austin, before enjoying one of our wonderful evenings together.
As our fabulous relationship strengthened, we loved the same kind of movies for the most part, and over time, I grew to trust her judgement and selections. That was until we invited Bonnie’s mom to join us on one of our outings.
Shannon worked at a local movie theater and loved keeping up with the latest features on the horizon. She combed magazine articles to glean the latest scoop and was undeniably giddy over “Guinevere” -- an obscure, independent film premiering at the Village Cinema in North Austin that week.
I didn’t give it a second thought, and figured we’d be enjoying some tale similar to “Camelot” or another movie about “Knights in Shining Armor.” Boy was I ever wrong. While the three of us watched the movie, the story began to delve into areas that I’m sure was making my sweet mother-in-law’s cheeks blush.
In the darkness of the arena, it was tough to tell for certain. Before I even had a chance to look toward her, an intense sex scene filled the screen with all the thrusting and gasping associated with such an energetic activity. By then, I squirmed in my seat like a nervous hen, watching a snake slithering toward her nest.
I gulped. What on Earth was Shannon thinking? I’m going to wring her pretty little neck!
Closing my eyes, I silently prayed. “Lord, please let Mom be sleeping.”
I quickly glanced at my mother-in-law, who was anything but asleep. The poor little lady sat frozen like a statue, while staring at the screen with her eyes and mouth wide open.
Shaking my head, I gasped. What must she think of me? I’m never going to live this one down.
Suddenly, a shot of adrenaline raced through my veins. Bonnie’s going to kill me!
I leaned forward and shot a glare at Shannon, who sat on the other side of her grandma. Just as I expected, she pretended not to notice. Finally, she ever so slowly turned her head my way.
Embarrassed to the hilt, I gave her a stern look and mouthed. “What were you thinking?”
She pressed her lips together and shrugged. As she turned her attention back to the screen, I could tell she was probably just as embarrassed as I.
Shannon always loved Grandma to the depths of her heart and would have never suggested going to this particular movie had she known. At least I hope not!
At that point, I wasn’t really sure what to do. I could only imagine what was going through my mother-in-law’s mind, but I had to give her credit. She was a trouper and sat silently without the slightest hint of her feelings.
That’s Mom alright. She never complains. I gently nudged her arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was this kind of movie. Let’s go.”
She smiled and modestly replied, “Okay.”
After getting over that one blemish on Shannon’s choice of movies, we watched plenty more enjoyable showings. For the most part, our oldest daughter transformed herself from the antics of a Devil Child, when younger, to the much more respectable behavior of a very likeable, young adult. In fact, she was so subdued most of her high school years, I started referring to her as our “Middle Aged Teenager.”
While the change was remarkable and beyond our greatest hopes, she’d occasionally lapse into those not-so-charming habits of hers. As the kids grew older, we would assign them additional chores. By the time they were in high school, they were responsible for washing and caring for their own clothes.
Shannon absolutely hated taking care of her laundry and took every opportunity to avoid such a bothersome task. While cleaning one day, Bonnie happened to walk past our oldest daughter’s closet and spotted a tall stack of dirty clothes on the floor. This pile stood so high; it could have challenged the monstrous heap of dinosaur dung found in the first release of “Jurassic Park.”
Mom was none too happy with her daughter at that moment. The declaration of punishment came down swift and heavy upon Shannon. “You won’t be doing anything this weekend until each and every one of your clothes has been washed, dried, folded, and put away!”
Infuriated, Shannon quickly replied. “But I’ve got plans for the weekend!”
Without the slightest hesitation, Bonnie responded, “Tough! You aren’t going anywhere, until this is all cleaned up!”
Oh, my word, I’m certain the howling emanating from our distraught daughter’s mouth could be heard throughout our neighborhood and beyond. Steaming, she grabbed a basketful of clothes and stormed off -- grumbling to the hilt -- all the way down the stairs and into the utility room.
After several hours had passed, Shannon huffed a bit as she approached Bonnie. She sniped. “I’m done. I took care of all my clothes. Can I go see my friends now?”
Bonnie and I looked at each other in astonishment. My eyes darted to-and-fro. How could she possibly do all that in such a short time?
Bonnie gave her that wary look of disbelief. “Show me.”
We all hiked up the stairs and into our daughter’s bedroom. She opened one drawer after another. “See. I even folded them.” Then, she proceeded to the closet, where she pointed to the freshly washed clothes hanging from the rack. “I did as you asked. Can I go now?”
Bonnie glanced at me, and I shrugged with a smile. What else could I add to the matter? As tough as it was to believe, it certainly appeared that Shannon had taken care of all her clothes, as requested.
Forcing a grin, Bonnie turned toward our daughter. “See. It wasn’t that hard, was it?”
Without even a hint of a smile, Shannon just stood there with her arms crossed. Finally, she sighed. “Can I go now?”
“Yes and thank you. Have a good time.”
Well, you’d think this might be the end of such an episode, but you’d be wrong. The next year, we decided to downsize a bit, since the girls were graduating from high school and would likely be moving on, soon afterward. So, we sold our beautiful 3400 square-foot house in Scofield Farms and bought a much smaller home. Our new residence resided on Oak Bend Drive in the Northwood subdivision, only a few miles from our previous location but still within Austin, Texas.
On the day of our big move, Bonnie and I began dismantling Shannon’s waterbed. After lifting the plywood platform and removing the emptied water mattress, we stared at each other in disbelief.
Totally stunned, I thought, Oh my word. I can’t believe she did this!
Lo and behold, the narrow tunnel that ran down the middle, from the foot to the head of the bed, was jam-packed with Shannon’s dirty clothes. Worse yet, the smelly collection included several of my t-shirts she had “borrowed” in the process of running out of her own clothes.
That sneaky, little weasel hadn’t washed all her clothes that day, way back when. She had stuffed half of them under her bed. Neither of us was all that thrilled with our oldest daughter at that moment, but the truth was, I couldn’t help but chuckle inside.
Our sneaky Shannon had advanced her conniving nature of deception to a whole new level. It took some doing to come up with that one!
Of course, we laid into her even though we felt gullible for allowing her to trick us in such a manner. That girl sure knows how to avoid work!
Despite feeling the sting of her pulling that one over on us, Shannon was still a wonderful daughter, when it was all said and done. Yes, she’d get in trouble once in a while, but she and I had that fabulous "buddy" thing going on.
When she moved out on her own, I really missed not having my fun-loving companion around. Despite living elsewhere, she remained very thoughtful, rarely missing her daily calls to Mom and mailing us funny cards on birthdays and special holidays.
Those loving phone chats between Bonnie and Shannon continue even to this very day and typically last 30 minutes or more. As much as I dearly love and miss our oldest daughter, I’m glad her calls come to Mom.
I don’t know how I could ever dream up that much stuff to talk about each and every day. We’re so proud of Shannon and always look forward to seeing her, whenever we get the chance -- even if she's a die-hard Texas Tech fan.
*********
That's it for now.
I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about my life and that of our oldest daughter, Shannon. Up next is the second portion of "The Girls" where I share even more experiences and personal thoughts about "The Youngest Daughter."
Thank you for your amazing support!
Andy Skrzynski
ANDY'S LESSONS FROM LIFE
My 27th Short Story
With this rendition of my life, you'll get a chance to learn more about Shannon, our oldest daughter. The earlier portion of this story is an introduction and is the same as provided with the second part of "The Girls" about our youngest daughter, Colleen.
"The Girls, Part 1: The Oldest Daughter"
“Raising children is one of the most important and challenging undertakings chosen by a grownup.”
--Andy Skrzynski
Couples face lots of very difficult choices in life, but few are more impactful than helping children learn the best way to deal with the world in which they live. More often than not, during the earliest stages of parenthood, unexpected mishaps confirm our ignorance in handling such endeavors. Fortunately, the amazing hugs, broad smiles, and joyful sparkles in our children’s eyes help us overcome those misgivings.
Around the time of my separation from my second wife in the mid-1980s, I concluded it was time to settle down a bit and entertain the thought of raising children. My dear friend, Bonnie, who still lived in Michigan at the time, had been divorced for a couple of years and her daughters were still quite young.
Shannon, the oldest, was six, going on 12 in her mind. Colleen enjoyed the delightful world of a four-year-old to the fullest.
Before long, Bonnie and I began a long-distance relationship. During that interesting but trying period, while living 1200 miles apart, I would stop by Canton, Michigan on my flights back home to Texas. At that time, I was fulfilling my duties in transferring a project from IBM Kingston, New York to my homebase in Austin.
Bonnie and I always made the best of those weekend hops, playing with the girls in the park or out at the lake, while fitting in romantic flings after we tucked the girls into bed. Following a few bumps along the way, the relationships among the four of us blossomed quite well.
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I wanted children, the little girls were thrilled at the thought of having a full-time daddy, and Bonnie didn’t mind a helping hand in raising two young kids.
So, within less than two years of developing our bonds, we got married, and “Our Family” set out on the adventure of our lifetimes. As would be expected, we had a few growing pains, while we tested each other and learned how best to live in some form of harmony. It was a grand time in my life, when I positively loved being a part of The Girls’ lives and them being part of mine.
With marriage plans in the making, I found a wedding band that symbolized my devotion to ALL three girls -- my beautiful wife, Shannon, and Colleen. The lovely trio would remain a significant part of my life until the day I died. That magnificent ring contained three sparkly diamonds, clustered side-by-side at the top of the golden halo around my finger -- the perfect reminder of my commitment.
"The Oldest Daughter"
Of our two girls, Shannon was definitely the more challenging, during her younger years. This wasn’t a total surprise.
Bonnie had shared many stories of her oldest daughter's shenanigans over the years. My dear friend and I remained long-distance buddies well before and after the rambunctious little girl became a gleam in her parents’ eyes.
After Bonnie’s divorce and our subsequent marriage, a couple of years later, Shannon and I started off on rocky footing. It wasn’t that she was bad or didn’t like me; it was more that the strong-willed girl preferred being her own boss. Brimming with a rebellious attitude, she seemed hell-bent on testing my authority as her parent at every turn.
Stubbornness was a trait Shannon inherited from her mother and grandpa, and she was determined to do things “her way.” Unfortunately for her, she was unaware that I had plenty of practice dealing with such battles of willpower. I helped raise three stepbrothers and sisters, who were born while I was in junior high and high school.
Because of her innate stubbornness, Shannon was in the doghouse much more than her younger sister, during those earlier years of adjustment. At first, I gave her a little slack, since she and I were getting used to each other in a new environment, but this only served to reinforce her rebellions.
Such a reaction required a change in tactics. The good thing for Bonnie and I was that we agreed up-front that we would fully support each other in our methods of discipline -- one way or another.
We chose not to resort to spanking as a primary deterrent, though it was not ruled out entirely if matters ever grew serious. Our most preferred method of dealing with behavior that strayed from our desires was to withhold a privilege that the girls treasured most, until they behave better.
Informing the girls that they could no longer play with a favorite toy or game worked like a charm for most infractions. It’s amazing how quickly the girls would straighten up whenever they were told they could no longer play with their Gameboys. From the wailing and sobbing that ensued after such proclamations, you’d have thought we had condemned them to death.
While this method worked most of the time, Shannon would slip into the realm of more serious behavior challenges on rare occasions. She suffered a good deal of emotional turmoil after an annual event, outside our foursome family unit.
Unfortunately, she chose to lash out at her sister or others in school as her method to release such tensions. Being bigger and stronger than other kids near her age, she’d sometimes get too rough with a couple of the children.
Of course, this was one of those situations that could not be tolerated, and I resorted to spanking Shannon on those rare occasions. To be clear, I always swatted her with my bare hand while she was fully clothed.
I didn’t use a strap or paddle because I wanted to feel exactly how hard I was spanking her. I used two to three swats with my palm to let her know how it felt to physically “hurt” someone else.
Then, I’d leave her in her bed to think about her offense and subsequent punishment -- usually overnight. A remarkable reaction followed such punishment.
The next morning, Shannon emerged from her bedroom as the nicest little girl you could ever imagine. Better yet, she’d wrap her arms around me and apologize. Realizing her outbursts were wrong, she sincerely wanted to let me know she understood.
It took another one or two of these annual events before such outbursts disappeared, but thankfully she learned to control her tendency to lash out. As she grew older, she channeled that pent-up energy into physical activities in school and other extracurricular sports, such as shotput, discus throw, softball, and basketball.
We were thrilled when she decided to join the Pflugerville High School band. She’d marched up and down the fields during practice and football games, while lugging and playing her huge baritone sax, second only to the massive tuba in size.
Bonnie and I would travel from one game to another and witness the spectacular Panther band. Full of pride, our daughter blew her horn, while marching in formation in her glorious blue and gold uniform.
Almost one fourth of Pflugerville High School students participated in their remarkable band, and their 500-strong members could challenge some of the larger college bands across the land. Their fantastic performances led them to state-wide competitions in the Texas Longhorn stadium, the Alamodome in San Antonio, and many other great facilities. Between Shannon’s band performances and Colleen’s cheerleading competitions, Bonnie and I never lacked for grand entertainment.
Over time, Shannon’s earlier rough beginnings turned into a closeness beyond my expectations. This strong-willed daughter and I became great buddies during and after her high school years.
We loved going to movies together or playing in Texas hold 'em poker tournaments. Prior to such events, we’d typically chat over dinner at Branch BBQ, north of Austin, before enjoying one of our wonderful evenings together.
As our fabulous relationship strengthened, we loved the same kind of movies for the most part, and over time, I grew to trust her judgement and selections. That was until we invited Bonnie’s mom to join us on one of our outings.
Shannon worked at a local movie theater and loved keeping up with the latest features on the horizon. She combed magazine articles to glean the latest scoop and was undeniably giddy over “Guinevere” -- an obscure, independent film premiering at the Village Cinema in North Austin that week.
I didn’t give it a second thought, and figured we’d be enjoying some tale similar to “Camelot” or another movie about “Knights in Shining Armor.” Boy was I ever wrong. While the three of us watched the movie, the story began to delve into areas that I’m sure was making my sweet mother-in-law’s cheeks blush.
In the darkness of the arena, it was tough to tell for certain. Before I even had a chance to look toward her, an intense sex scene filled the screen with all the thrusting and gasping associated with such an energetic activity. By then, I squirmed in my seat like a nervous hen, watching a snake slithering toward her nest.
I gulped. What on Earth was Shannon thinking? I’m going to wring her pretty little neck!
Closing my eyes, I silently prayed. “Lord, please let Mom be sleeping.”
I quickly glanced at my mother-in-law, who was anything but asleep. The poor little lady sat frozen like a statue, while staring at the screen with her eyes and mouth wide open.
Shaking my head, I gasped. What must she think of me? I’m never going to live this one down.
Suddenly, a shot of adrenaline raced through my veins. Bonnie’s going to kill me!
I leaned forward and shot a glare at Shannon, who sat on the other side of her grandma. Just as I expected, she pretended not to notice. Finally, she ever so slowly turned her head my way.
Embarrassed to the hilt, I gave her a stern look and mouthed. “What were you thinking?”
She pressed her lips together and shrugged. As she turned her attention back to the screen, I could tell she was probably just as embarrassed as I.
Shannon always loved Grandma to the depths of her heart and would have never suggested going to this particular movie had she known. At least I hope not!
At that point, I wasn’t really sure what to do. I could only imagine what was going through my mother-in-law’s mind, but I had to give her credit. She was a trouper and sat silently without the slightest hint of her feelings.
That’s Mom alright. She never complains. I gently nudged her arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was this kind of movie. Let’s go.”
She smiled and modestly replied, “Okay.”
After getting over that one blemish on Shannon’s choice of movies, we watched plenty more enjoyable showings. For the most part, our oldest daughter transformed herself from the antics of a Devil Child, when younger, to the much more respectable behavior of a very likeable, young adult. In fact, she was so subdued most of her high school years, I started referring to her as our “Middle Aged Teenager.”
While the change was remarkable and beyond our greatest hopes, she’d occasionally lapse into those not-so-charming habits of hers. As the kids grew older, we would assign them additional chores. By the time they were in high school, they were responsible for washing and caring for their own clothes.
Shannon absolutely hated taking care of her laundry and took every opportunity to avoid such a bothersome task. While cleaning one day, Bonnie happened to walk past our oldest daughter’s closet and spotted a tall stack of dirty clothes on the floor. This pile stood so high; it could have challenged the monstrous heap of dinosaur dung found in the first release of “Jurassic Park.”
Mom was none too happy with her daughter at that moment. The declaration of punishment came down swift and heavy upon Shannon. “You won’t be doing anything this weekend until each and every one of your clothes has been washed, dried, folded, and put away!”
Infuriated, Shannon quickly replied. “But I’ve got plans for the weekend!”
Without the slightest hesitation, Bonnie responded, “Tough! You aren’t going anywhere, until this is all cleaned up!”
Oh, my word, I’m certain the howling emanating from our distraught daughter’s mouth could be heard throughout our neighborhood and beyond. Steaming, she grabbed a basketful of clothes and stormed off -- grumbling to the hilt -- all the way down the stairs and into the utility room.
After several hours had passed, Shannon huffed a bit as she approached Bonnie. She sniped. “I’m done. I took care of all my clothes. Can I go see my friends now?”
Bonnie and I looked at each other in astonishment. My eyes darted to-and-fro. How could she possibly do all that in such a short time?
Bonnie gave her that wary look of disbelief. “Show me.”
We all hiked up the stairs and into our daughter’s bedroom. She opened one drawer after another. “See. I even folded them.” Then, she proceeded to the closet, where she pointed to the freshly washed clothes hanging from the rack. “I did as you asked. Can I go now?”
Bonnie glanced at me, and I shrugged with a smile. What else could I add to the matter? As tough as it was to believe, it certainly appeared that Shannon had taken care of all her clothes, as requested.
Forcing a grin, Bonnie turned toward our daughter. “See. It wasn’t that hard, was it?”
Without even a hint of a smile, Shannon just stood there with her arms crossed. Finally, she sighed. “Can I go now?”
“Yes and thank you. Have a good time.”
Well, you’d think this might be the end of such an episode, but you’d be wrong. The next year, we decided to downsize a bit, since the girls were graduating from high school and would likely be moving on, soon afterward. So, we sold our beautiful 3400 square-foot house in Scofield Farms and bought a much smaller home. Our new residence resided on Oak Bend Drive in the Northwood subdivision, only a few miles from our previous location but still within Austin, Texas.
On the day of our big move, Bonnie and I began dismantling Shannon’s waterbed. After lifting the plywood platform and removing the emptied water mattress, we stared at each other in disbelief.
Totally stunned, I thought, Oh my word. I can’t believe she did this!
Lo and behold, the narrow tunnel that ran down the middle, from the foot to the head of the bed, was jam-packed with Shannon’s dirty clothes. Worse yet, the smelly collection included several of my t-shirts she had “borrowed” in the process of running out of her own clothes.
That sneaky, little weasel hadn’t washed all her clothes that day, way back when. She had stuffed half of them under her bed. Neither of us was all that thrilled with our oldest daughter at that moment, but the truth was, I couldn’t help but chuckle inside.
Our sneaky Shannon had advanced her conniving nature of deception to a whole new level. It took some doing to come up with that one!
Of course, we laid into her even though we felt gullible for allowing her to trick us in such a manner. That girl sure knows how to avoid work!
Despite feeling the sting of her pulling that one over on us, Shannon was still a wonderful daughter, when it was all said and done. Yes, she’d get in trouble once in a while, but she and I had that fabulous "buddy" thing going on.
When she moved out on her own, I really missed not having my fun-loving companion around. Despite living elsewhere, she remained very thoughtful, rarely missing her daily calls to Mom and mailing us funny cards on birthdays and special holidays.
Those loving phone chats between Bonnie and Shannon continue even to this very day and typically last 30 minutes or more. As much as I dearly love and miss our oldest daughter, I’m glad her calls come to Mom.
I don’t know how I could ever dream up that much stuff to talk about each and every day. We’re so proud of Shannon and always look forward to seeing her, whenever we get the chance -- even if she's a die-hard Texas Tech fan.
*********
That's it for now.
I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about my life and that of our oldest daughter, Shannon. Up next is the second portion of "The Girls" where I share even more experiences and personal thoughts about "The Youngest Daughter."
Thank you for your amazing support!
Andy Skrzynski
Shannon was like a fish and wanted to swim every chance she got. In this case, we were staying in a hotel in College Station, Texas. The girls had been looking forward to the enclosed swimming pool. It was a lot colder than we expected, and unfortunately, many of the glass roof panels were missing, and the water was quite chilly. The girls whined up a storm until Bonnie and I finally gave in. They had a great time, but it didn't take long for their lips to turn blue and their teeth to chatter. They would have continued swimming if it was up to them, but we promptly pulled them out of the water. Shivering and happy as meadowlarks, the two girls sported smiles while Bonnie and I toweled them off.
Another swimming moment for Shannon. During the extreme heat in the summer of Texas, we'd visit the Barton Springs swimming pool in Austin. Since the large creek was fed by springs, the chilly water was a welcome reprieve from the glare of the sun.
Shannon was always aglow during Christmas.
While Shannon was usually bigger and not as graceful as some of the other children, she positively loved playing in the park, with or without her sister.
It is amazing what a First Communion dress and veil can do. This little girl, who often challenged every ounce of our patience while she was growing up, looked like a darling little angel in her beautiful outfit. She was never nervous during such events and always had a smile on her face. She was one cool cucumber!!!
Shannon ALMOST NEVER liked posing in front of a camera, but she played nice for her First Communion picture with Bonnie and me.
Nothing like a tickling session to loosen up Shannon. Tickles drove her nuts, but she enjoyed it just the same. Here, her grandma tickles, while Bonnie holds our giggly daughter in place.
Look Mom, Santa brought me some new slippers!
The ONLY time Shannon truly enjoyed posing was when she wanted to show off her new clothes to Daddy.
Both of our girls were such darlings when it came to new clothes. They put on their lovely outfits and pretended to be walking down the stage like a model, strutting their stuff in front of Daddy. I absolutely adored these cute sessions!!!
Shannon loved to play "make believe." She'd take every opportunity to delve into fantasy land whenever the opportunity arose.
Me and my buddy, goofing off whenever we could!!! We had so much fun.
Bonnie and I were so proud of Shannon and her trips with the marching band in high school. Almost 1/4 of the students participated in the 500-strong band that often filled an entire football field. They played so well as they marched in formation, the fabulous band often competed in lots of state-wide and occasional nation-wide competitions. Shannon loved the social interactions with her friends, and Bonnie and I enjoyed traveling and watching Shannon do her thing. Here, she's playing her large baritone sax, while the Pflugerville High School Panther band played their marvelous routines during the "Bands of America" competition at the massive Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on October 28, 1995.
Shannon, accepting her Pflugerville High School diploma. Whew, she graduated!!! Hooray!!! Shannon is highly intelligent but didn't necessarily like doing tedious schoolwork.
Shannon adored her cat, except first thing in the morning when it would leap from its perch above Shannon's bed and land on her stomach -- startling our daughter out of a peaceful sleep. Shannon preferred sleeping in...
Shannon and Bonnie had and continue to enjoy a wonderful daughter-mommy bond that will never be broken!!! Shannon calls and talks to Bonnie almost every day!!!
More of that daughter-mommy thing going on!!!
Even though we lived 1200 miles from Michigan, where Grandma and much of our family lived, Shannon liked to keep in touch with Grandma. We were celebrating the wedding of one of our lovely nieces when Shannon decided to give Grandma another squeeze.
Shannon and her loving partner, Julia, visiting Bonnie and I over the holidays at our home in East Texas. Julia's mom, Judy, also joined in on the fun. We always have such a great time together!!!
Shannon and I enjoying a wonderful time at one of our friend's wedding reception in Austin.
I couldn't help it. Shannon and I are always goofing off and playing pranks on each other. That's what buddies do!!!
Awww. Another mommy-daughter moment.
I can't believe I was able to get Shannon to smile. She hates dressing up and posing for pictures, but she loves her mommy!!!
A rare Shannon head shot. Is she actually wearing makeup??? She prefers the natural look with t-shirt and baseball cap!!! She is so sweet -- when she wants to be. LOL!!! I surely love my buddy!!!