i have very little willpower in some instance’s -kid’s & books being one.  so-when i was at the flea market this morning it was impossible to resist this treasure-a baby book.  robert henry was born on june 10th 1918 in waukau, wisconsin to gwendolyn & henry cantgler.   gorgeously illustrated by clara powers wilson & published by the reilly & britton co chicago.

these finds are bittersweet for me-it breaks my heart that a family heirloom fall’s into a complete strangers hands at a flea market for a couple of $. this was an only child-the light of his parents lives-they  recorded his childhood with such love and pride.

perhaps at the moment, i’m a little bit over the top emotionally these days on this subject.

i am a mother-my kids are for the most part ”grown”.  my youngest , my son,  will be 21 in dec. a few weeks ago, late at night -he woke me up with “i brought john home-he has nowhere to go”.  john, with his life in 2 trashbags , was moved into one of the spare bedrooms.  i’ve know john since he was 9yrs old-he was my “second son” through  elementry & middle school-he was always here.  he was a child that could have easily fallen through the cracks. his mother had such serious substance abuse issues that she was unable to care for her children.  fortunately her father stepped up and took all 3 kids-john being the oldest.  baseball & his grandfather were john’s savoir, he loved both. my son fell out of touch with john during high school-we heard from john during his senior year-his beloved grandfather was dying  of cancer.  after his grandfather died,  john’s life quickly spireled downward. two years later- this is a young man on the edge-he can go either way. he’s a great kid-i’ll do everything i can to make sure he makes it-i hope it’s enough. 

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