MGPN Preface
My MGPN tells the story of when my family moved from Cañon City, Colorado to Troy, West Virginia. As my parents had recently been married, we were a newly blended family and we were still trying to get to know each other. This move provided an opportunity for us to grow together as one family as well as to grow individually. That moment in time helped shape who I am today, and is the reason my family is as close as we are; I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.
Country Roads (MGPN)
September 23, 2002
Dear Diary,
In just a few weeks my family is moving to Troy, West Virginia. Daddy and mom checked out a book on facts of West Virginia for us to learn. So far I know the state tree is the sugar maple and the state animal is the black bear. I also learned the state motto is Montani Semper Liberi which is Latin for mountaineers are always free. Today in class my teacher made each table pick a city in the United States to be and I convinced my group to choose Troy. My teacher thought I was talking about the Troy in Greece but then I told her that’s where I was moving.
I can’t believe my family is moving in like 2 weeks! I remember when Daddy told me we were moving to West Virginia. I never even heard of West Virginia so Mom showed me on a map where it is. My best friend’s (Sammy) dad played me a song called country roads by John Denver (I remember his name cause I live in Colorado and Denver is the capital) when I told him I was moving to WV. I never heard the song before but it was pretty good. I’m going to miss Sammy.
A couple days ago the pictures of the house-hunting trip finished getting developed so I got to see pictures of our new house. Its a log house and it is really really pretty. We are going to have 5 ½ acres (daddy says an acre is the size of a football field) with a creek! I can’t wait to go swimming in the creek and have that big of a yard! Our horses are going to take up a lot of it though. Daddy and mom told us this is going to be a house we can be proud of and that we won’t have the feel ashamed if people come in. That will be nice. I just can’t wait to be there already! I have to go practice my spelling words though. Ttyl! (Kassie taught me that means talk to ya later) Country roads, here I come!
Love,
Jessie
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| Troy, West Virginia (Red Star) Current Population: 208 Land Area: 21.652 square miles |
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
To: Verna Kittell
From: Rick McCollum
Subject: Moving
Dear Verna,
I am moving to West Virginia with Leslie and the kids. My career is transferring me, but it was a conscious decision on my part to put my paperwork in so it was possible. You have made it impossible for our family to live here any longer. Your wild accusations and rumors have ruined any and all relationships we had within the community. They have also made it impossible for us to grow together as a new family. You will still have visitation rights with the children, such as summers and a few holidays/breaks. I ask you to not interfere as this move will be taking place despite your protests, and your opposition will only make it worse on the kids.
Rick
To: Rick McCollum
From: Verna Kittell
Subject: RE: Moving
Rick, How dare you take the kids away from me! Being their mother, they belong with me. I will not cause a large uproar before you leave, or in front of the children. You better believe I will be going to court to get custody though. You are nothing without me and you and Leslie will never make anything out of yourselves. If the kids stay with you, they will have no future. Divorcing me is the worst mistake you have ever made.
-Verna-* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Walking through the house for the last time felt surreal. The rooms that were usually filled with laughter, music, and arguing were now empty and silent. The old floors creaked eerily as I passed through silently saying bye and remembering all the memories made in each room. As I moved from my bedroom to the sitting room the visions I saw changed from laying on my bed reading and staring at the two huge pine trees outside my window to having my older sister curl my hair for me. In the living room downstairs I see my little brothers and me spinning in circles as fast as we could and jumping off the fireplace onto a pile of pillows and blankets. Walking out the front door and across the front porch for the last time brought back the smell of rain and pine needles that was always present as I sat on the old wooden stairs watching the rain bounce off the streets. I am brought out of my reverie by the sound of my brothers running down the stairs behind me. I will miss this house and my friends, but I am excited for the adventure on which my family is embarking.
I hear my dad yell, “All aboard!” as my siblings and I pile into our cars. As I watch out the window as the house I grew up in fades in the distance, I hear my sister jokingly ask “Are we there yet?” For the next five days, we will be in the car as we drive from Colorado to West Virginia. Two and a half hours have passed when we stop at a rest stop and I can’t help but laugh at the scene we cause. We have two vehicles, with the Jeep pulling a small horse trailer that our dogs travel in. After pulling into the parking lot all seven of us kids practically fall out of the cars and grab the leashes to walk our three dogs. We take turns going to the bathroom and holding the dogs before we all pile back into the KIA and Jeep and head back down the road. Since I was in the front seat (which took a lot of begging and pleading to achieve) I was also in charge of the music. I pulled out my favorite CD at the time, Toby Keith’s Unleashed, pushed it into the stereo, turned the volume up and sang at the top of my lungs to Beer for my Horses and Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue with my mom.
The time flew by and I heard my dad’s voice on the walkie talkies we brought taking a vote for where to stop for dinner. The Chinese restaurant won by a landslide with only my three year old brother wanting McDonald’s. We finally all sat down at tables the waitresses pushed together for us and started to eat. I looked over at my sister and my three year old brother in time to see her feeding him noodles. She proceeded to explain he told her he didn’t want to eat any Chinese food until she got him to pretend he was a baby bird and the noodles were slimy worms. This gave my whole family, the waitresses, and the people at the surrounding tables quite a laugh. After 45 minutes we were back on the road but this time just to find a hotel to stay at for the night. After finally finding one that would allow us to bring our pet gerbil and mouse into the room we all put our swimsuits on and raced (loudly) down the hall to the pool. This routine continued for the next four days until we finally reached our temporary home, the Days Inn in Flatwoods, West Virginia.
As my dad drove to Wal-Mart with two of my older sisters, my other sister and I quickly claimed drawers, unpacked our suitcases, and added our stuffed animals to the bed we would be sharing. After about an hour my dad returned with a bulge in his jacket. As I stared at it trying to guess what it was, the lump moved; my dad had gotten a German shepherd mix puppy! My mom was very upset at first as we were living in a hotel that did not allow dogs and our other dogs were staying in boarding. After our new puppy, Jake, walked up to her, placed his tiny fluffy paw on her arm, and licked her nose, she couldn’t help but fall for him. A week into our stay, we were quite surprised to find out our secret puppy had been discovered. As my dad came in from taking him out in the middle of the night, with him hidden in his coat, the clerk asked “How’s that little puppy doing?” with a smile and a wink. Turns out the night staff had fallen for the tiny bundle of fur we had named Jake and were helping to keep our secret.
After a few days of living in the Days Inn, we found our stay was going to be slightly longer than expected. The current owners of our future house, the Mathises, decided they needed a few extra weeks to pack all their belongings and completely move out. As excited as my siblings and I were to be staying in the hotel even longer, since we were able to swim every day, this was actually a huge inconvenience. The hotel we were staying in was an hour’s drive from our schools, as well as my dad’s job. After another few days, we were all becoming a little bored of car rides, and eating at restaurants; we all longed for a good, home-cooked meal.
Three weeks since we had first moved into the hotel, Halloween arrived. This would be the first Halloween I remembered that my siblings and I couldn’t go trick-or-treating as we were still in the hotel and had no costumes. As we sat down at our usual restaurant however, the waitress walked over with seven goodie bags of candy and other Halloween treats she had made for us kids. That little bit of candy seemed to last forever. After another week of swimming daily, eating out, and sneaking our puppy in and out of the hotel, it was finally time to move into our new house in Troy, West Virginia.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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| My siblings and I the first time we visited our house in Troy, WV. |
Becky: Me either! I am so excited to finally be here. After five days in the car it’s so nice to be at our new home. I’m going to miss Colorado, especially all my friends there and color guard, but I have a feeling this place is going to be awesome.
Me: Me too! I love that we finally have a huge yard and that it has grass! Everything is so green! I feel like we’re in a jungle! Come with me to look at the creek!
Becky: Ok! (Takes off running)
Me: Hey! Wait up! Whoa!!! (Almost falls into creek)
Becky: (laughing) Don’t fall in Jess, you wouldn’t want to go meet your new classmates soaking wet!
Me: That would at least give them a reason to talk to me.
Becky: What are you talking about?
Me: If I’m soaking wet, at least then my classmates will come and talk to me to ask me why I’m wet.
Becky: You will do fine Jess, you are going to make a lot of friends really fast.
Me: If you say so. (Wanders off in a different direction) Whoa, Becky! Come look at what I found!
Becky: What is it?!
Me: It’s our own little island! It looks so pretty with all the trees on the side of the creek and our island right in the middle! Come see!
Becky: That is really pretty! As soon as it warms up we can swim over there!
Me: I can’t wait for summer to be here already! (Laughing) That mushroom you just stepped on just puffed a bunch of powder out of it! Watch! (steps) on another mushroom and powder shoots out the top)
Becky: (laughing) That is awesome! (Jumps on two mushrooms at once then picks one up) Watch, if I squeeze it, I can shoot the powder at people! (Shoots it at me)
Me: Let’s go get Kass! (Grabs a mushroom and runs to Kassie with Becky following) Hey Kass! Watch this! (Shoots the powder at Kassie and gets it all over her coat)
Becky and Me: (bent over laughing)
Kassie: Guys! That isn’t funny! This is a brand new coat and now it’s all stained with stupid mushroom powder!
Becky: Aw, come on Kass, admit it. It was pretty funny. If we did it to someone else you would be laughing.
Kassie: (pouts for a minute then slowly starts to smile) I guess it was kind of funny.
Me: (shoots a smile at Kassie) Come look what Becky and I found! We have our very own island! (Runs off with Kassie in tow)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Name : Chaz McCollum Date: January 11, 2003
Acrostic Poetry Worksheet
Directions: Create an acrostic poem using the word(s) given below. The poem must flow well and make sense. Complete sentences must be used.
We moved to West Virginia,
Earlier this year.
Sometimes I miss my old house
That is very clear.
LiVing here is so much fun though,
I like it very much.
Running, playing, and fishing is how I spend my time.
Grass stains cover all my jeans.
I like my classmates too.
Nobody is ever mean.
I am glad we moved to West Virginia
And I hope we never leave.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Dear Toni,
To: Toni Corbitt
From: Leslie McCollum
Subject: New Life
From: Leslie McCollum
Subject: New Life
How have you been? It has truly been incredible how much our family has grown since moving to West Virginia. When Rick and I were first married, it seemed like our entire life together was going to consist of troubles, arguments, and strife because of Verna. I felt as if all the children only thought of me as the “evil stepmother” due to her brainwashing and lies she was telling them. Kate was just confused and uncomfortable in the whole situation; after all, she was in a house with five new siblings and a new dad.
Now, everyone is extremely close and all the kids are practically inseparable. It’s amazing what some fresh country air, a huge yard, and having to spend time with each other (simply because there is no one else around) has done for all of us. Jessie called me Mom for the first time in person today. :) I know it sounds really cheesy, but I almost cried. It’s kinda funny how she was the first one to call me Mom in letters and e-mails, but the last in person. Living in Cañon City, I was truly afraid this situation wasn’t going to work. Thank God we were able to move, and put all of our pasts behind us. My new crazy family means the world to me and I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world.
Thank you Toni for always being there for me; even after your son and I got divorced. I am extremely lucky to have gotten a good mother-in-law (I guess ex-mother in law now) instead of the stereotypical one. I love you and hope to hear from you soon! God Bless!
~Leslie~
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
January 20, 2011
Dear Diary,
I don’t even know where to start. My life has changed so much in the last few months. I am now a student at West Virginia University and I absolutely love it here. It makes me think back to when my family and I moved to West Virginia for the first time. Wow, that seems like so long ago; I was only 10 years old then. Haha, I remember I didn’t even know where WV was, let alone how much it would come to mean to me.
Looking back now, I have come to realize how important that move truly was to my family. My dad and my mom had just gotten married and we were all trying to get used to having new family members. It didn’t help that my biological mother was making everything way worse and doing everything in her power to tear us apart. Moving to West Virginia was a way for us all to start fresh and grow as a family. All the rooms in our new house were on one floor, which made it nearly impossible to disappear and/or hide and we had no television so we always had family movie or games nights. It also helped that we lived out in the country so we were only around each other most of the time and we had to come up with activities to do together. My favorite was when we would set up badminton in the yard; we were always so sore the next day.
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| Most of my siblings and I in our amazing yard with our dogs |
I think living there also helped us to appreciate the little things in life. Most of my memories involve catching fireflies for the first time in my life, fishing in our creek and learning how to release the fish, shooting the debris floating down the river after a flood, and sitting on our porch with my siblings as the rain poured down and thunder crashed all around us. From our neighbors, we learned that true friends would give you anything you needed, without you asking, even if they had nothing to give.
The actual move to Troy was quite an adventure in and of itself. We were all in two cars (with 9 people it was a little crowded at times) and we had 3 dogs, a gerbil, and my pet mouse. We were a traveling caravan with only walkie talkies to communicate. We did a lot of “bonding” in the 5 days it took to drive from Canon City, Colorado to Troy, West Virginia. I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world. This move truly meshed all of us into one family and I truly feel we wouldn’t be nearly as close as we are now without that experience. I am so glad I am able to call myself a West Virginian and a Mountaineer. I have come to learn what the words to John Denver’s Country Roads mean and the truth they hold. As a mountaineer, I get choked up anytime I hear the words, for these country roads have truly brought me and my family to where we belong.
Love,
Jessie
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| One of the old country roads by our house |
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