The beginning is a very good place to start...

February 26, 1979 at 6:26 am a red-headed baby girl was born. That red-headed girl was me. I was named Margaret Samantha after my maternal grandmother, Nani and my paternal grandfather, Grandpa Sam.

Margaret Samantha (Me) - February 1979

Nani was the 4th generation Margaret in our family, which makes me the 6th. That's a lot of Margarets in our family and I am proud to be one of them. Nani was Mom's mom and had already passed away before I was born. My brother, C, and my sister, D, got to know her as kids and for that I am pretty jealous. They also got to know Boss, my maternal great-grandfather, and of course I am jealous of that too. I have heard some great stories about Boss and Nani. It is the memories of those we have lost that keep them with us every day. If I ever have anything in my shoe, I always think "there's a burr in my shoe, Boss. A burr in my shoe." That was D's story but I hold in my heart as one of my own. Whenever C would ask Nani for candy he would want "one for my mouth and one for my bocket." Makes me smile just thinking of Mom telling me those stories.

Mom and Nani
I LOVE the fact that Mom and I looked so much alike when we were litte.

 Grandpa Sam was actually E.J., Ezekiel Jackson, but everyone called him Sam. Not really sure where Sam came from but that's the story I have been told all my life. I don't really have a lot of stories about him and that makes me a little sad. I do have a lot of stories about Aunt Fish and Mamaw, though. Aunt Fish is Daddy's sister and Mamaw is his mother. Mamaw passed away when I was in elementary school but I still got a chance to know her and make some memories. Some of the classics are "the wall is your friend" and "the ocean tastes like Mamaw's margaritas." Again, I just smile thinking about these little snippets. I still to this day can't look at a frog without thinking of Aunt Fish. She loved frogs more than anyone else I know. She had a billizion. My sister, J, and I tried to count them once. I think we got bored around 5,000. Aunt Fish always said that if she kissed enough frogs she would find her prince. Whenever I would spend the week during the summer, Aunt Fish would always leave a list of things that needed to get done throughout the day. The one thing I remember that was ALWAYS on the list was to pick up sticks in the yard. Goodness me, I sure did pick up a lot of sticks.

Mamaw, Sammi, Aunt Fish - Christmas 1982

Well... there ya go... A little bit about my begining. More stories to come. Stay tuned...