Marilyn
Smith Hawkins
About
the author
HOME
The Shining Eyes of Dawn
I, Marilyn Kay Hawkins, was born ( at home ) January 29 19 the third of seven children born to Harold & Willo Calkins which were farmers in Wayland , Michigan. I have wonderful childhood memories of my childhood years because of living on a farm in a small village at the time. I learned stong work ethics from helping with farm chores with my Dad and sisters. My Dad wanted farm hands but because my only brother came last and Dad felt the need for another income to support us he went to work at General Motors in 1953 just before my brother was born. The farming was then scaled down to less then half the size.
I met my future husband Dave Smith in my junior year of high school and fell in love. After graduating from High school in May of 1962 we married June 23rd of that year. We had our first daughter Lori Ann the next year April 25 1963. Dave wanted me to be a stay at home Mom ( very common back then ) so I spent the first ten years of our marriage in the home with our children instead of going on to further education. On April 25th two years later to the day our second daughter Dawn Marie ( which this book is about ) was born. Four years later our son David Lyle Jr was born ( on my father's birthday ) July 27th 1969. We decided with his birth that our family was complete.
After living in Grand Rapids, Michigan for seven years we were given the opportunity to buy the farm house that I grew up in ( my parents had moved to his childhood home next dorr my senior year ). We decided to buy the home and take on the project of doing a complete renovation on it to bring into the seventies look. We also seen it has a chance to raise our children on farm land in my home town next to their maternal grandparents.
I spent the next five years taking care of our children, home, helping Dave with the renovations, volunteering at church and being a girl scout leader. In March of 1975 we received the devastating news of Dawn's cancerous brain tumor. The next seven and a half years I took on another row to be with my sick child and still keep up with my other ones. How does a Mother do this with out sacrifice of one of the other rolls? That question was asked of me which brings the reason for writing this book. I take the reader through those stressful years to let you know how faith is the only way one can get through years of medical ups and downs and running a household with out it.
HOME Face Book Order Contact Updates Photos About the author