Archives

Traditions

Nov30

When I arrived home, I sat down at the kitchen table with my bag of goodies. Mom was standing at the stove stirring a pot of chili. Looking over her shoulder, she said, “Don’t spoil your supper with candy. You can eat whatever you want later.”

I protested, “I just want to look at what I got at school.” Opening a small brown paper bag, I dumped it next to my cereal bowl, filled during the night with chocolate covered peanuts, vanilla creams, hard candies and an orange. Mom left the stove to look over my shoulder as I examined my new loot. There was a red and white candy cane, a bunch of peanuts in the shell, several chewy red, white and green mints in wrappers and a popcorn ball. On the way home from school, I’d gobbled down the malted milk balls.

Mom asked, “Did you get to see Saint Nicholas today?”

Shaking my head and grinning with the superiority of a ten-year-old, I said, “Nah. It was just like other years. When we came back inside from our last recess of the day, everyone had a bag like this on their desk.” As Mom sliced bread, I said, “My classmates all celebrate Christmas pretty much the same, but not Saint Nicholas. Only a few put letters to Santa in a cereal bowl like we do. Some of them set out shoes, others hang socks…” Continue reading →

Halloween Slumber Party

Oct26

I studied the woodland as our car passed by. Last week the colorful fall leaves had been shone in the tree branches. Today they were on the ground. Still bright, they looked like drifts of sunshine. Sighing, I shifted restlessly around in our family car’s back seat. The sky beyond the bald tree-top-twigs was a beautiful, pure blue. Although I had run through leaves on the playground with my fourth grade classmates during recess, I felt like I hadn’t had enough time to enjoy the day.

Arriving at home, I dropped my books on the kitchen table and grabbed a warm cookie from the counter. As I turned to run out the back door with my treat, Mom looked up from a pan of cookies she’d just taken from the oven and said, “Change out of your school clothes before leaving the house.”

A mouthful of sweet, ginger snap cookie crumbs kept me from being able to do more than merely protest, “Awfuph!” Disobeying wasn’t an option. Doing as I was told, I ran up the stairs to the bedroom I shared with my big sister. Sloughing off my school clothes like cast-off fall leaves, I left them where they fell on the floor. Hopping and tripping, I pulled on my play clothes as I headed back down the steps. Continue reading →

Seatbelt of Shame

Sep7

I peeked into the children’s bedroom before sitting down on the sofa next to my husband, Arnie. I said, “The girls went to sleep quickly tonight. Going for that long walk with me this afternoon in the cool, brisk air tired them out.”

Arnie said, “The weather today was more like it should be at the end of September. There was a chill of fall in the air and it’s only the beginning of August!”

I shrugged. “In a few days it’ll probably be as warm as July. Anyway, school will be starting in a few weeks.”

“That reminds me, did you call the bus company?” my husband wondered. “The lady at the kindergarten orientation meeting seemed to think Tammie would need to ride on a bus for the handicapped.”

I rolled my eyes before answering, “I called about getting her enrolled on the bus for handicapped children and was yelled at. The man I talked to was very indignant. I don’t know what his problem was. He seemed to think I was asking for something out of the ordinary or unnecessary. I tried explaining to him the lady at the kindergarten orientation suggested that I call…he just yelled at me in a most unprofessional manner! I guess he was having a bad day.” Continue reading →

Computer (Gee Whiz) Kid

Aug3

Our teacher said, “Computers are an up-and-coming technology. Many of you may be working with them in the future, depending on what jobs you have.” After pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts, he continued on, “Right now computers are large and have limited functions. I heard of one at a college that’s as big as this room. In the future they’ll get smaller and be more useful.”

My mind was drifting during this lecture on future careers. Graduation day was in two weeks! Below the open classroom windows, I heard a lawn mower start up. Soon the scent of fresh-cut grass floated in on a breeze. The familiar smell reminded me of my happy, uncomplicated childhood. Feeling panicky, I thought, “I’m not ready to be an adult yet!” Continue reading →

Ba-aa-ad Wash Day

Jul27

Already in bed, Mary watched me pull off my dirty shorts and top before slipping a nightgown over my head. Sitting forward, she glared at my cast-off clothing lying in a rumpled heap on the floor in the middle of the room. Sharing a bedroom with a sister seven years older than me didn’t usually bother me. Tonight was an exception. She snapped, “We have a clothes chute in our room. How hard would it be for you to throw your clothes down it?”

Sighing loudly, I picked up the soiled clothing, opened the clothes chute lid and tossed them in. Leaning forward, I listened to them slide down two floors to the basement. Turning to crawl into bed, my sister warned, “We have clean sheets tonight. If your feet are dirty, go wash them. Brush your teeth while you’re at it.”

I looked down at the soles of my feet. They were black. Obediently, I trudged downstairs to the bathroom to wash up. Later, when I finally crawled into bed, I realized that it felt good to be clean. Nothing would make me admit that to my bossy sister, though. Continue reading →

Love Eggs

Jun29

Not seeing anyone in the kitchen, I bellowed, “Mom? Where are you?” My mother’s answer sounded far-off and unintelligible. Remembering that it was Monday, I nodded and said to myself, “Oh. It’s wash day. She’s in the basement.”

Having located Mom, now my only thought was to take care of the hungry rumble in my belly. Sunshine flooded into the kitchen through the window over the sink as I glanced around at the counters, looking for something to eat that would be easy to make. Seeing half a loaf of homemade white bread sitting cut-side down on the bread board, I had a sudden craving for a soft poached egg resting on a slice of buttered bread. Continue reading →

Lucky

Jun22

Anne leaned forward over the minute kitten in her lap. She was trying to get it to open its mouth to suckle on the nipple of a doll-sized bottle. A silky curtain of her blond hair slid forward, obscuring my view. After a moment, my sixteen-year-old granddaughter leaned back and I saw the small calico kitten that she cradled avidly sucking on the nipple.

I asked, “Have you given the kitten a name yet?”

My granddaughter’s blue eyes glanced up at me as she answered, “Ah…no, not yet. We just call it, Baby Kitty.”

I thought, “It’s just as well that they not name it right away. The chance of this small feline surviving is very slim.” Nodding approval, I said to her, “When you do name it, think about ‘Lucky’.” Continue reading →

Undeniable

Jun1

Leaning forward I quietly asked my daughter, “Do you remember the first time you lied and knew you were lying?”

Niki shrugged and said, “No. I don’t think so.”

“Well, I do.” I confessed. “I was in second grade and I hated the baggy brown stockings I had to wear to school. They wrinkled around my ankles and looked terrible. The stockings I wore to church on Sunday mornings were white and not at all saggy…probably because they were worn only one day of the week, whereas the brown stockings were continuously washed and worn. Both required a garter belt to hold them up.”

Amused by my tale, Niki asked, “How did wearing saggy socks cause you to lie?”

“Pride.” I said with a sad shake of my head. “One evening after school I told Mom that my teacher, Sister Mary Michaeleen, wanted all of the girls in the class to start wearing their white stockings to school.”

Chuckling, my daughter said, “Did Grammie fall for that lie?”

I said, “Of course not. I’m the youngest of seven children. She had four other girls before me and hadn’t just fallen off the turnip truck. What I wanted and why was entirely transparent.” Continue reading →

Fifty Years Too Soon

May25

I took my old recipe box out of the cupboard and began rifling through the cards. My daughter Tammie said, “Mom, what are you looking for?”

Without looking up, I answered, “There’s an old recipe for spiced carrots in here. It would go well with our meal tonight if I could just find it.”

“Oh!” My daughter exclaimed excitedly, “I was in Pinterest the other night and I saw a fantastic carrot recipe.” Whipping out her smart phone, she asked, “How about I pull that recipe up for you?”

Surprised, I looked up at her to ask, “What in the world is Pinterest?”

Tammie explained, “It’s a website on the Internet. It’s like a bulletin board where you can pin pictures and information about crafts, cooking, sewing or anything else of interest. I like visiting this site to find ideas for crafts. The ideas I like or try, I pin on my personal Pinterest board. Other people on the Internet can see what I have on my board. If they like the type of things I post, they can ‘follow’ me by copying ideas from me.” Continue reading →

New House Old

Apr27

A ray of morning sunshine slanted down from the window on the stairway landing. Without thinking, I stepped into the beam, like a super star steps into a spotlight on stage. Closing my eyes, I smiled. It felt right and good to be there.

I may have stood in this exact spot on an April morning sixty years ago, when I was five. Back then I would have been listening to Mom talking to Daddy in the kitchen and enjoying the smell of fresh bread baking. I would have listened to my sister practicing her clarinet in her room, knowing that my brother was down the hall tinkering with a mechanical gadget in his room.

Today’s new, yet familiar, sunlight opened a floodgate of memories. Memories made more poignant by the job that lay before me, clearing out my childhood home to prepare for a new family to move in. Continue reading →