I didn't move much at night because the covers were so heavy they kept me pinned down. Lying there on the bed in that little room was like I went back in time, because of all the memories. .
I started thinking of my dad getting up on all those cold winter nights when I was a child. It was my job to bring in enough firewood to keep the wood stove going all night since it was the only source of heat we had. I remember my dad coming to my room and saying, "Boy you better get-out there and get more wood before it gets too late." I recall, as though it was last night, my dad getting up in the middle of the night to put more wood on the fire so the house would not get too cold. I woke up some nights and saw him walking into the living room, where the heater was, because it was right next to my room. My door was always open to let the heat in to warm my room. I always felt good when he would look into my room and check on me. If I was awake, he would say "You better get some sleep boy, we got a lot of work to do tomorrow." .
I remember all too well my mom getting up in the middle of stormy nights to wake us. During bad weather my mom would wake us kids up to get dressed in case there was a tornado, which happened quite often in Oklahoma. She was deathly scared of storms and lightning since she was almost hit by lightning as a young woman. I would beg her "Please let me go back to sleep," but she would have none of that. She made us get up and get dressed. Then we could go back to bed in our clothes. I felt safe and secure knowing that if the weather got too bad mom or dad would get me to a safe place. I can still recall when dad and I replaced the bedroom floor, because termites had eaten holes in the wood and made it weak. Dad said, "Son if I am going to work on your floor, you are going to help me. You are twelve now and need to start acting like a man." I felt so much pride working along the side of him on that floor.