Memory is the Only Way Home

Do not trust your memory; it is a net full of holes; the most beautiful prizes slip through it.
 -Georges Duhamel

When Leah was a baby I decided to start my first blog. The Schultz family escapades is a labor of love for my kids. They have every year of their childhood documented...printed in a hard back book, with stories and pictures of their lives. For a while, I've thought about my own childhood...what can I tell my kids about my life prior to them, prior to their dad? The older I get the harder it is to recall the memories of my youth. 

So now, as we prepare for expatriate assignment in Spain, and I'm on sabbatical from work for a year, it seemed like the perfect time to sit down and try to recall the people, places and things from my own childhood. Let's start at the beginning. 

I was born on Saturday, June 3rd, 1978 in Charleston, Illinois...actually the hospital, Sarah Bush Lincoln was out in the middle of nowhere between Mattoon and Charleston, so my birth certificate list my place of birth as Lafayette Township. But if you say Lafayette Township in our area, no one knows what the heck you're talking about. Not to brag, but my birth was kind of a big deal. You see, my grandparents on my dads side had 5 sons. Papa (Jerry), David, Kevin, Brian and Mark. Those 5 sons were followed by 5 grandsons: David, Rob, Jeremy, Stephen (deceased) and Paul. So everyone was pretty certain that the Myerscough's were in for another boy. 

Anyway, that Friday night my mom (Carol) thought she was going into labor but Papa didn't believe her. It was a few days early, so he went to work. But later that night she ended up in the hospital. This is where the story takes a weird twist. Back in 1978 Papa owned a small pizza joint on the square in Charleston called Pizza Joe's (later known as Jerry's Pizza). That night, after the restaurant closed the restaurant was robbed. I kid you not, they stole the vaccuum cleaner and a couple hundred in cash. The article in the newspaper was on the same page as my birth announcment. Here's your proof:

So there is that! Pretty crazy, right?!?! But anyway, on Saturday, June 3rd I was born at 8:29AM weighing 6lbs 12 oz, 20 cm long. The biggest surprise of all was that the Myerscough's could actually produce female children. My parents friends, Mike and Jeri Baird, were so excited that they put a BIG sign in our front yard. Not really that big of a deal, but my parents lived on Lincoln Ave. The main street in Charleston. So I was a big headline in the paper AGAIN. Here is the proof:

They chose my name, Amy Corrin Myerscough. Papa says that he wanted the name Amy, from the song by Pure Prarie League...I don't know if I believe that. Corrin was the name of a character played by Katherine Helmond on a show called SOAP. I like that my mom was following pop culture to chose her kids name. She was young, 23 I think. 

Then of course we have that old standard hospital photo that every baby used to get. My very first portrait. So that's how it all began. Quite an entrance for that Myerscough girl, so to speak!