Day 3- My Parents
I was one of those kids that was lucky enough to have one mom and two dads.
My mom's name is Gail and she is my best friend. I know all girls say that about their moms at some point in there adult life, but it is the truth. I was raised as an only child and my mom and I didn't always get along, but that was only for the "tween" years, once I hit high school I knew she and I had a special thing. I think it helps that her motto is "your only as old as you let yourself feel". She was always the mom that others came to with problems because they knew she wouldn't judge them, but just listen to their problems and give them some great advice. Of course we had our issues through my high school years also, but I'd like to think we had more good times than bad ones. Once I hit college, that's when I really knew she was my best friend, I could talk to her about anything and everything. I think if you are a mom and your kids can't come to you about everything in there life (dating, sex, etc.) then you may miss out on some of the best or worst moments in your child's life. I know it helped me through a lot of really bad patches in my younger years, to be able to go to my mom and just vent.
When I decided to move Kylee and myself down to Beaver Damn to try and work things out with her dad, that was probably one of the toughest things I've ever had to do. My mom and dad had split up and she was on her own, we spent a lot of time together during that first year her and my dad were split. Kylee and her have a bond like no other, they are two peas in a pod. A bond that I hope will just keep getting stronger with time, and a bond that I hope she can develop with Brayden. I don't think that should be to hard, she is just really good with kids and he seems to love her crazy ways already! I miss my mom like crazy and continue to badger and pester her to move down her on a daily basis (I think I'm wearing on her, so maybe soon she will be down here!).
I hope to have the relationship with Kylee, that my mom and I have.
I love you tons Momma!!
Now to my dad(s).
I was born as Jennifer Provence, my biological dad is David Provence. Growing up I don't remember my dad to much, my mom and him split when I was just a baby due to his drinking. She didn't want that around me. He stayed in town for a few years and I got to see him every now and again. Then he move to Wendover, Nevada. He married a women named Jody who had a son, I adored both of them. I loved having an instant brother, he watched out for me all the time. I got to go to Wendover quite often when he was married to Jody, but then they divorced when I was in the 3rd or 4th grade, so I couldn't go visit as much. I didn't see my dad all that often after that, maybe every couple of years or so. I would get a card on my birthday and if he came to town he would stop by, he made it to my high school graduation, which was so great because I didn't think he was going to make it. What a great surprise to see him walk in the gym! We never did have a very close relationship. I always tell people, "He is a great guy, just not a father figure", he just didn't have it in him.
I took Kylee to see him when she was just a little over a year and that was the last time he saw her until April of 09. I got a call from my aunt in August of 08 telling me that he had cancer, my heart dropped. I know we weren't close, but he was my dad and I knew he loved me. He couldn't make it to our wedding because he was so sick from his Chemo treatments, but he did call me the day of my wedding to tell me he loved me and was thinking about me. That meant so much to me, I can't even describe how I felt.
In March of 09, I got another phone call telling me that the chemo wasn't working and that the tumors had spread through out his body and into his brain. All he wanted was to see us, so Casey and I loaded up the kids and drove to Duchesne, where he was living with his wife Cathy.
I will never forget how he looked, so frail and sick, not the man I remember seeing when I was younger. His face lit up when Kylee gave him a hug and called him Grampa David it totally made his day! I was pregnant with Brayden at the time and told him that we would bring the baby up to meet him after he was born. Sadly, I never got the chance to do that, I got a call from my Uncle Gerry (my dads brother) on June 6th, 2009, my dad had passed away. I was great full that he wasn't in any more pain, but upset that he never got to meet Brayden and that I didn't make more of an effort to see him as I grew into an adult.
R.I.P David Provence we love you.
When I was 3, this red haired man moved in with me and my mom. I used to ask my mom when he was leaving, but he just wouldn't go! As time went on I got used to having this red haired man in my house and stopped asking him to leave and started asking to call him dad. Larry Tiffany won my heart when I was just a tot, he was just what my mom and I needed. He wasn't just my dad, he was my daddy! He always made sure we had what we needed and most times, what we wanted. I became a daddy's girl in no time, I had to go wherever he did and do what ever he did. Growing up, I was the only girl in an all boy environment, a bit intimidating at times, but I always had my dad there to tell me "just cause they are boys, doesn't mean that they are automatically better than you". Probably some of the best advice any girl can get in this day and age.
My dad taught me all kinds of things that most girls never get to experience (unless you grow up in a small town!). I learned how to drive when I was old enough to touch the pedals, in case something happened to my dad when we were out on one of our many adventures. I learned how to shoot a gun when I was 9 and shot my first buck when I was 11. I learned how to mark, vaccinate and castrate a calf when I was in jr high, all because of my dad. I can now see the value in the things I took for granted as a kid.
In high school my dad and I had a falling out, over a boy of all things. I told him that I loved this boy, and I think he had a hard time dealing with me loving another man. We didn't talk for about 6 months, but then we made up and things went back to normal. My mom and dad were my biggest fans while I played sports in high school, I think my dad only missed two games in the four years I played high school sports, haha, and the two games he did miss I ended up getting hurt!
My dad was upset with me when I decided to go to college out of state, although I never knew it til later. I went to school in northern Cali and at Christmas break I was ready to move back home. My mom was trying to reason with me and my dad was getting the truck ready to go get my stuff!
The last 6-7 years have been hard since my mom and dad split, I don't feel as close to him as I once did. He re married and we lost touch almost all together for a while, I felt as though his new family was more important than us. In the last few years I think he's realized that he kind of pushed us away, cause he has made more of an effort with us. I will always love this red headed man that would not leave and I am forever grateful that he was the man that Heavenly Father decided would be a good fit for our family, even if things didn't end up that great in the end.
Thanks for being my daddy and I love you so much!
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