January 1, 1997
I am sitting here with my Mom at Jeanne's home. Mom is 94 years old. She was fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home Mom. She was always there when we came home from school in the afternoon. We also walked home at noon and had a full course hot dinner. So her mornings were spent preparing a meal as well as the laundry, cleaning, etc. Supper was at 6 PM and was usually sandwiches and soup.
My dad would also come home for dinner and then have to go back to work. We all have a good memory of Dad waltzing Mom around the kitchen floor and giving her a good-bye kiss. Not just a peck, but a real loving kiss. Often he would take a cat nap on the couch for 20 to 30 minutes. We were all fast eaters, following the lead of Dad who had 1 hour or less for lunch, nap, and back to work.
Walking to and from school never was a problem unless it was a cold, wintry morning, then we would watch for the Shillington's across the street getting ready to drive Mary Lous to school. We would just happen to be out there at the right time and get a ride. Mom never did drive a car. Evidently, she tried to learn but Dad would get so exasperated with her that she quit trying, so the story goes.
The distance to school was three blocks to the coulee, past the swimming pool, the baseball field, and then about three or four more blocks to the Washington School. When we got to high school, it was just one block down and then past the football field on one side and swimming pool on the other side and then past the softball field and over the bridge which the creek ran under to get to the Yellowstone River and then we were there.
Walking to school was a great time for being with friends, talking, playing around, getting attention from boys, just a great time for fun, you were rarely alone. Sometimes when my friend Berta Mae and I were walking alone, she would reach her home about 3 blocks before mine, so occasionally I would be alone.
It always seemed I had to go to the bathroom so badly when I would reach the bottom of the hill our home was on. I remember doing a little dance many times before I could get myself up the hill and home. Our home was never locked at the back door, but after our home was redone and the front and back door were on the same side, the front door was usually locked so we wouldn't use it.
After we all learned to drive we took Mom to get the groceries. Dad must have done it before that because we were about two miles from the grocery store after we moved to the Heights when I was in 2nd grade. I know she often had rides with friends so maybe they shopped together, too. Her two fun things were golfing with her friends at the Country Club on Ladies Day (she always came home with a read face because it was usually warm in the spring and summer when they golfed). She also had a bridge club and there were always the card tables and delicious desserts and all the ladies came very dressed up!! Oh, yes, and she also had a Book Club and they would get together and discuss books and have a delicious dessert.
After we were older she was also a "grey lady" and did volunteer work at the hospital.
Although we had family picnics and parties I don't remember doing anything special alone with my mother, besides taking her grocery shopping. As a high school sophomore and junior, I liked to take her to Safeway as Harry was working in Produce there and I had started dating him. He would usually help carry our groceries out to the car!
Dad was always interested in all the high school sports and would drive my friends and me to out of town football and basketball games. Mom did not accompany us on those trips, our boyfriends were team members, so it was just Dad and my friends and me.
The formal high school dances were in the school gym and the gym was opened to the auditorium so our parents could come and watch! The basketball games were in the same gym and Dad always sat in the middle section but my friends and I sat in the right section. There was always a definition between parents and children, they did not try and be our friends but were always there, supportive and helpful. Marilyn and I were not even two years apart but she looks so much older than I in this picture. We had a four year high school and so I was probably still in Junior High here or maybe a Freshman.
