Story of my Life

This will be the story of my life, to be continued

This is the story of my life.

I was born in the tatami floor room of a Japanese midwife’s home. It was around five o’ clock in the morning in Tokyo, Japan when I entered the world. My mom told me I was the easiest birth she had among four children. My name is Ioanna Lily Ann Cornett. I was named after two people. Ioanna Dicks was a young model and translator. She was a strong outspoken Christian, translated sermons on Sunday, and a friend of my parents. Ioanna Dicks was a bilingual in Japanese and English. Her father was
My parents dedicated me to the Lord at International Christian Assembly. The church met at The American Club in Tokyo, Japan. There were about 250 people in the church.
My grandmother’s name is Darlene Ellen Ann Cornett, so mine is Lily Ann Cornett.

Joel was always right. To me and my younger brother Micah, he was the coolest brother anyone could have. I was five, Micah was four, and Joel was seven. Whenever I or Micah had a question, we would go to him.
“Joel, how much is infinity?”
“Oh it’s a big number. If I spent a long time, I could count to infinity. It’s kinda like a million,” he would reply.
And then would come the voice in awed understanding: “Oh, I see.”
“Joel, could men have babies?”
“Well it happens sometimes, although it’s kinda rare. Ladies like having babies more than men.” And so it went.
Joel told us about turtles, animals in Africa, and why the moon had holes. He told me that angels walked the earth and helped Christians stranded on roads with busted tires. I think that happened to us once. The old car we riding in had suddenly died on an exit ramp on a highway. A man appeared out of nowhere and fixed our car for us. Right before he just walked off, he said, “God bless you.” My mom and Joel talked in low voices, and Joel concluded, “Yes, that man who helped us was most likely and angel from God.”
Of everything we queried, Joel had an answer. Sometimes he didn’t know, so then he would come up with a theory, and we’d take it as fact. Since as long as he could write, he carried a notebook and a pen in his hand,. Ever since my dad bought him the 101 Electronics in 1 Kit, Joel talked about circuits, drawing all sorts of funny diagrams in those notebooks of his. I remember looking at a notebook once. Lists of weapons, stories he started to write- never finished, and lots of drawings of circuits. It bored me, but for Joel, it was spark interest.
My family lived in a small apartment in San Clemente, California. Joel and I attended Our Savior Lutheran School. Joel was in the 2nd grade and the youngest boy in his class. I was in kindergarten, and Micah was in Preschool. The one thing I most remember talking about at school was the greatness of Barney. But Joel shunned Barney, as well as the Power Rangers, so I shunned them too.

to be continued...