I was born in Dearborn, Michigan to Robert and Linda (Fields) Bonsall. We moved to Tampa in February of 1979 and moved to the Arndale Circle house in May, 1979. I grew up in that house and love going there to see Mimi.
Autumn and I shared a bedroom for the first few years. We had bunk beds (she had the top bunk). She used to entertain me by giving a shadow puppet show each night. At the time, I LOVED it but looking back I realize that it was limited it to two hands saying, "Hello, how are you today?" back and forth. She would also play the "are you awake?" game. She would ask "Melissa, are you awake?" and if I was awake I would reply, "yes" to which she would then confirm that she was "just checking". The problem came when I would actually be asleep. She'd ask repeatedly and get louder each time until she would wake me up to ask me that same question. Even at a young age, she had a sarcastic sense of humor.
Our room was always a messy. Autumn blamed me and I blamed her. I was convinced that she was the messy one. I finally got my own bedroom and within a week everyone learned that Autumn was a neat freak and I was the messy one. It's how I earned my nickname "Messy Melissa".
It was nice being the youngest because both Autumn and Kelly felt somewhat of a need to protect me. Autumn and I would team up on Kelly and Kelly and I would team up on Autumn but they never teamed up on me. Thank goodness!
My dad, Bob, died in May 1982. Sadly, I don't really remember him. I have very few memories with him. I know that when Autumn and I would get out of the shower, we used to comb our wet hair back and slick it back so we could be like Daddy. We had a big chest in the living room that had an old style key hole. Daddy would tease us that there were two other kids in the chest that were locked in there because they misbehaved. I do remember vividly the night my mom told us that he died. I wish I had more memories of him. I think that's a main driving force in me writing these things to you. God forbid something happen to me, I want you know about me and know that I love you more than anything in this world.
Mom made up for Daddy passing by being wonderful for the both of them. I've always known how lucky I was to have Mimi as my mom. She's ALWAYS been so loving and kind. She was the type of mom that put us first above everything and was happy to do it. Her world revolved around us and I hope that one day you feel the same way about me. She had it rough growing up and said that there were few times she heard "I love you". As a result, she made sure that there were plenty of "I love yous" in our home. Anytime we said goodbye, even to Kelly and Autumn, we always ended it with an I love you. That's something that we carried on to our house and I'm so glad. I LOVE telling you how much I love you. Now that we're older, her world revolves around you. She loves you just as much as I do and we are so lucky to have her in our lives.
Kelly and I had a normal brother/sister relationship growing up. He was overprotective of me. I had a pair of white Esprit jeans that fit like a glove that I LOVED and he would always pitch a fit when I wore them. It wasn't until we were older that we became close. I'm glad that we did because he's such a sweet and fun guy. He also adores you and is so excited when I tell him stories about you.
In the summer between first and second grade, Mimi married Chuck Holley on June 21, 1986. I loved him instantly. I think it was more of me just wanting a Dad. Growing up, I was always closer with him than Autumn and Kelly. I think it's because I was the youngest and he was really the only Dad I knew.
Things to know about Chuck (Pop Pop)
- Having fun was the most important thing to him. He always had a positive attitude and put more emphasis on enjoying life than anything else. His toast at our wedding included, "And most of all, have fun."
- We didn't have junk food in the house until he came around. Definitely won him some bonus points.
- He made the best breakfast ever. He would do homefries, bacon and eggs. To make it even less healthy, he'd fry the eggs in the bacon grease and make a fried egg sandwich. There was something about the way he made toast. It was the best.
- It only costs a little bit more to go first class. This was one of his life philosophies. It goes back to his goal of having fun.
- We initially were going to call him Granddad, which is what he called his grandfather. Isa somehow got "Pop Pop" out that and it just kind of stuck.
- He treated us like his own. Even with his faults, I can say that he treated us like his own and I have many fond memories of him.
I had a great childhood. We weren't rich, in fact there were a lot of lean times where we did without. I wouldn't change it for the world. Mimi taught us how to appreciate what we have, work hard and be optimistic about things. There was always laughter in our house. Granted, we were probably laughing at each other but there was laughter!!
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