Family Stories

I can honestly say that when it comes to my childhood, I really can't complain.  I look back and life has been amazing.  My parents were awesome, and they both did their best to work hard, set a good example, and provide for us kids.  There are a million and a half stories that I want to share with the world about not just my childhood, but about my mom.  You see, dad was a hard working man and was rarely home.  He drove over-the-road trucks and tour buses, and would be gone for weeks at a time.  So the bulk of the weight of raising us kids, fell on mom.  Mom was the educator, spiritual advisor, the chauffeur, the cook, the housekeeper, and the disciplinarian.  I can and will tell you about every hug, and every ass-kicking, because they were fairly balanced in their dispensing. I need to be clear about this part...I am going to tell the truth as I remember it. That's the part to remember.  There may be some dispute at times from others about facts....but I can only tell my story as I remember it.

“ You may have heard some of the events described here happened otherwise or went down a different way. Well, this is my version-how I remember things, my truth”
-  Lol Tolison

My memories bounce around a bit, as did we.  Some of the younger years run together a bit. I know we lived in Corona, Santa Ana, Buena Park, Garden Grove, Poway and Ramona. I was a Southern California boy, having grown up on the beaches and in the parks by the lakes. My mother would get us up first thing in the morning and we would all ride the OCTD (Orange County Transit District buses) to Newport or Huntington Beaches.  I remember going to Long Beach once, but it was filthy and we didn't enjoy it at all.  My mother would pack granola bars (Nature Valley was in it's infancy and granola was just becoming popular), and baloney and cheese sandwiches and take us to the park to fly kites.  She would sit and read her bible while us kids flew kites, played in the water etc.  You see, what we didn't really appreciate back then, was just how hard mom worked to make our lives FULL.  We had certain things that we thought were SOOOO aweful at the time, but in retrospect, they were small things to a giant.  For instance, mom was a charismaniac all day.  We went to church sunday morning, sunday evening, Wednesday evening bible study, friday youth group.....we were ALWAYS in church, and even to this day, she is convinced that if there is anything wrong, jesus is the answer.  Mind you, i'm NOT mocking her. Her faith is a huge part of who she is.  I don't share beliefs with her, even a little bit...but I respect the fact that she believes. I respect that she holds herself accountable to that belief system.  Frankly, there are things specific to that faith, that have created amazing memories about childhood.  For instance, it was never cold in the morning, in our house. My mother got up HOURS before anyone else, so that she could pray and study her bible.  We had a wood burning stove, and she would start a fire and make sure that we had a warm living room to wake up to, while she had her prayer time.  Now, mind you, we were NOT allowed to speak to her during that time.  You were not allowed to disrupt her time talking to G-d.  But it was certainly warm.


More to follow....

This will be updated as I have time, and more stories will be shared.