Dear Breeanna,

Betty Gee with 4 Oaks came to our house for the Parents as Teachers program and brought a farmhouse and animals for us to play with this time. She has come four times so far each with a different activity to promote your development.

In talking with her this visit, she encouraged mommy to write the story of our past. So here is our story...

Long long ago in North Vietnam your great great grandfather was a very wealthy landowner. His land was so vast that birds had to stop in their flight to rest. When the communist party took over the North, they wanted to redistribute his land so they killed him and two of his sons. The third son escaped with his family. That was your great grandfather. They hid in jungle for days eluding the communists that were searching for them. They made their way to the coast and was rescued by an American Red Cross ship that took them to the South. Greatgrandfather built a house out of bamboo sticks for his wife and seven children. It was very hard to find a job because Vietnam was a third world country that was mostly agricultural.

Greatgrandfather had a very hard time fitting in with other people because he felt that he superior in many ways.

One year during the hurricane season a storm swept away their house.

When grandma was three years old, her mother passed away. Greatgrandfather turned to alcohol to console his misery.

Grandma's life was very hard because greatgrandfather favored his two sons and treated the girls badly. It was common to beat children in Vietnam and grandma got her share. I don't think she could do anything right in his eyes. Unfortunately that's a legacy that she has passed on.

Grandma's life was not easy. She told mommy that at night when she slept, rats would come and bite her. She often went hungry and even dug through trash for food.

When grandma was eleven years old, she was sent away to work as a servant to support the family.

She married a French/Vietnamese soldier who was your grandfather. He died even before mommy was born.

So that is our story.

Love,
Mommy