(re-run) My parents didn’t swim. When we went on vacation at Clear Lake, and Dad wanted to take us out in a rented pontoon boat, my mom objected. Dad won in the end, and the five kids put on our life jackets. I think my mom did, too. I am sure my dad didn’t wear… Continue reading Pontoon Boat Disaster
Category: childhood
Getting Away from all the No, No, No’s
(re-run) My mom, bless her heart, had to keep five children in line, mostly by herself. She did this by keeping everyone in his or her place, as in, “No, you can’t do that!” I just found out that my younger sister also wanted to play clarinet in the band, like I did. But I… Continue reading Getting Away from all the No, No, No’s
A Mouse in the Bed
When my oldest was in 4th or 5th grade, she told me one morning that there was a mouse in her bed. “There’s no mouse in your bed!” I said. “There is,” she said. “I felt it crawling over my leg.” She went off to school, and I told my mother, who was visiting from… Continue reading A Mouse in the Bed
Grandma’s Basement
My grandfather and his dad built a house into the side of a hill. The main floor had three small bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room and stairs to the kitchen below. The kitchen looked out over the hill down to the creek and had windows and a back door with a screen door. The… Continue reading Grandma’s Basement
Grandfather Clock
I am waiting for my grandfather clock to be delivered. It’s from my friend’s aunt’s estate. She didn’t want it. Her brother didn’t want it. It reminds me of my aunt and uncle’s clock in their house in Iowa. As a child, I’d spend the night with my cousin and listen to the clock chime… Continue reading Grandfather Clock
Pontoon Boat Disaster
My parents didn’t swim. When we went on vacation at Clear Lake, and Dad wanted to take us out in a rented pontoon boat, my mom objected. Dad won in the end, and the five kids put on our life jackets. I think my mom did, too. I am sure my dad didn’t wear one.… Continue reading Pontoon Boat Disaster
The Middle Child
(te-run) I’m not really the middle middle child. I am the second of five. But I am the middle daughter, three girls before two brothers. Looking back over the years, I remember how it felt to not be the oldest, not the youngest, not the first daughter, not the youngest daughter, not the first son… Continue reading The Middle Child
Getting Away from all the No, No, No’s
(re-run) My mom, bless her heart, had to keep five children in line, mostly by herself. She did this by keeping everyone in his or her place, as in, “No, you can’t do that!” I just found out that my younger sister also wanted to play clarinet in the band, like I did. But I… Continue reading Getting Away from all the No, No, No’s
Creepy Crawlers and my Sixth Grade Status
In 6th grade, my friends all got one teacher, and I got the other. I was put into a classroom with the kids who would grow up to be the popular ones that dominated high school. They were intimidating, even at the age of eleven or twelve. Connie Green had many matching sweater sets to… Continue reading Creepy Crawlers and my Sixth Grade Status
What to do on a Hot Pandemic Day
What do you do when it’s 100 degrees outside and you’re in the middle of a pandemic? For me, it’s clean out another drawer or sort through another box. I inherited all of my sister’s belongings three years ago when she moved here from Iowa, and today, while packing up a daughter’s stuff, a daughter… Continue reading What to do on a Hot Pandemic Day
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 