30 Memories of 1978 …

Recently I’ve contemplated simpler times.  I must be getting old or something …or just need to

de-stress.  At any rate, that line of thinking brought me back to my childhood; so here we go:

30 Memories of 1978:

1. My best friend was Kim and we shared every minute together that we weren’t in school.  We played kickball, softball, hide-and-seek, Barbies, paper dolls, caught lightning bugs, played Monopoly and Pay Day ’til the cows came home and watched Dukes of Hazard every Friday night.
2. You had to get up and turn the t.v. dial to change the channel or control the volume!
3. We had no microwave and wouldn’t for eight more years!
4. We went to church every Sunday.
5. Back then, we really got snow!  How thrilling it was to go sledding down a huge hill in the power lines that ran behind our houses!  Of course, it was a long way to trudge back up the hill … to do it all over again … but so worth it!  🙂
6. I was in 3rd grade and it was my last year at a public school.  Little did I know how difficult the next school year would be when I would be immersed in a rigorous educational program at a private school!
7. My 83 year old grandmother made us pancakes every morning before we headed down the hill to catch the school bus.  She also nudged us awake each day with her cane.  I always wanted more sleep!  🙂
8. I remember thinking how neat it was that President Jimmy Carter had a little girl, Amy, living in the White House.
9. We rarely got new clothes outside of beginning a new school year at our private school or Christmas.  We didn’t expect anything otherwise.
10. Hand-me-downs and used toys were very common.
11. I loved family trips to the beach when we visited extended family in the summer.
12. My younger sister and I were always outdoors!
13. Even back then, I loved to write letters. (and receive them!)
14. Mrs. Jones was my 3rd grade teacher and I loved her.
15. School papers were mimeographed.  I still remember that blue ink & the smell.
16. I had a lot of friends at school.
17. I was a Chatty Cathy!
18. I deeply admired my neighbor’s vibrant, red tulips each spring!
19. We had a huge, wood paneled station wagon. It was a boat!
20. If you wanted to speak to family out of state, you better make it brief.  Long distance was expensive!
21. When the phone rang, it was seldom for a child.  Phone calls were more for grown ups or teenagers.
22. Phones had this crazy cord attached.  Most phones were black.
23. No one I knew had a computer.  I don’t think I knew what one was.
24. You didn’t talk back to grown ups.  Most had respect for their elders.
25. We weren’t allowed to chew gum in school.
26. We had to do our homework before we went out to play.
27. I hated spinach, brussel sprouts & stuffed peppers.  (still do!)
28. I helped with household chores, including laundry and cooking.
29. Greatly admired my older sister, who wore clogs & vests.
30. We just knew our future would be very bright!

….. I hope you enjoyed this little snippet of my world way back when!  What are your fondest memories of simpler times?

Grammy & My Best Friend

I’m told that my childhood best friend, Kim, and I met when I was a year and a half old.  Our mothers introduced us and we soon became inseparable.  We made snow angels together.  We waited at the bus stop for elementary school together.  We brushed each other’s hair.  We played with her mother’s Doris Day paper dolls and read Archie comic books.  Later we played Barbie’s and Monopoly and PayDay.  Our favorite t.v. show of all time was The Dukes of Hazzard.  How we had a crush on Bo! Haha!

Kim’s grandparents, Grammy and Grampy, lived just two houses down the street from us and they were almost like my own set of grandparents.

Grammy was a German lady with the most beautiful completely white head of hair.  She was about 5’9″ and was the most classy lady I knew.  She was constantly cleaning or doing laundry, often while listening to the easy listening radio station.  Their house was always peaceful and they treated me like their very own.  I was instantly adopted and I loved it.

When we very little, if it was time for Kim to take her afternoon nap, I took a nap too.  Grammy bathed us and there was a set of green nylon pajamas I borrowed for nap time.  I didn’t care for naps as it wasn’t required at my house, but complied because Grammy said so.

Her spacious finished basement was a kid’s oasis with dress up clothes and satin high heels, large dry erase easel and colorful markers, toy refrigerator, shopping cart and a huge assortment of toy food.  There were many tools for the imagination to run wild and that we did.  Kim and I were secretaries, teachers, moms with baby dolls.  We were rich and famous.  We were married to fabulous guys who adored us.  We were living the imaginary life!  Kim was Grammy’s only grandchild and she was her world.  I counted myself blessed just to be a part of it.

One of my fondest memories was when Grammy would put us up on this old wooden ironing board and washed our hair over the utility sink in the basement.  She would usually wash Kim’s hair first and then it was my turn.  We really got the spa treatment.  I can still smell that Pert shampoo now.  Grammy was a gem, so doting yet she could be very firm too.  Her love was evident through her tender care.  She didn’t have to utter the words.  Her love was tangible and still felt today.

I lost touch with Kim about twenty years ago, but am hoping to reconnect with her at some point.  I learned that Grammy passed away four years ago and Grampy the following year.  My heart was sad to hear that, although they both lived likely into their nineties.  Their lives were full.  Affectionate memories will forever dwell in my heart.  Grammy’s love and tender care for me as a child will never be forgotten.

I used to refer to her home and yard as the “Better Homes and Gardens” of the neighborhood as they took meticulous care of both.  Their home was like a model, always immaculate.  Grammy had the most beautiful red and yellow tulips that were so vibrant each spring.  I adored them.  They remain my very favorite flower to this day.  Equally, Grammy invested tremendous care into her family and her “adopted” granddaughter, me.  I can only thank God for placing Grammy and Kim in my life way back in the 70’s.  They were a huge part of my childhood and sources of great joy.

Grammy, you were a great role model of what it means to be diligent and productive.  Above that, however, the love, time and care you invested in my life is appreciated beyond any words I could articulate.  Thank you for including me in your family.  Your nurturing and warmth are often recalled with fondness.

And, Kim, you and I shared some of our best childhood memories.  Our friendship was one of the best gifts God could have bestowed on me.  We had fun times body surfing the waves at the beach and eating cotton candy on the boardwalk.  We played with our Holly Hobbie play house for hours, shared our dreams and goals, collected lightning bugs in glass jars, played hide-n-seek on endless summer nights, played softball and kickball with the other neighborhood kids for hours, laughed constantly while we swung and played on the teeter totter on the swingset in Grammy’s backyard…Ah, the memories are countless, my dear friend.

How I’d love to catch up on the last twenty years with you, my friend!  …

 

 

101 Colloquialisms & Idioms I Grew Up Hearing…

Growing up, my dad was the “King of Colloquialism”, at least in my mind.  He had quite a repertoire of idioms and sayings that have stayed with me through the years.  He was born in 1937 and his parents just after the turn of the century.  I’m sure he heard many of them from his parents, aunts and uncles, and they became standard prose.  Many were perplexing to me as a child as I pondered their meaning.  Perhaps you may even recall others you, too, grew up hearing and wondering about.  I hope you enjoy.

Here goes:

1. A little birdie told me.
2. A picture is worth a thousand words.
3. A stitch in time is worth nine.
4. Use a little elbow grease.
5. Let your head save your feet.
6. The elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top.
7. Good enough for government work.
8. Make hay while the sun shines.
9. Slow as molasses in the middle of winter.
10. Slow as day.
11. Right as rain.
12. You look like your last dog died.
13. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
14. The early bird catches the worm.
15. Red as a beet.
16. White as rice.
17. Black as night.
18. Fast as lightning.
19. Ready for Freddie, Waitin’ for Clayton
20. I was born ready.
21. Ready as I’ll ever be.
22. Feed a cold, starve a fever.
23. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
24. Pretty is as pretty does.
25. Beets will make you beautiful.
26. Cleanliness is next to godliness.
27. They’ll be late to their own funeral.
28. Necessity is the mother of invention.
29. Kick the bucket.
30. A little thin on top.
31. Not too bright.
32. Better too early than late.
33. Better too late than never.
34. Better safe than sorry.
35. A dime a dozen.
36. A baker’s dozen.
37. That’s a piece of cake.
38. Time to hit the books.
39. Time to hit the hay.
40. Hit the nail on the head.
41. Almost laid on egg.
42. When pigs fly.
43. You’ll be up the river without a paddle.
44. Costs an arm and a leg.
45. Can’t get blood out of a turnip.
46. Bite off more than you can choose.
47. A lazy man’s load.
48. If your ears are burning, it means someone’s talking about you.
49. If your nose itches, it means someone’s thinking of you.
50. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
51. If you want something done right, do it yourself.
52. Do it right the first time.
53. Haste maketh waste.
54. Waste not, want not.
55. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
56. Motor mouth.
57. Can’t see the forest for the trees.
58. That’s for the birds.
59. All that glitters isn’t gold.
60. Time is money.
61. Money doesn’t grow on trees.
62. The money tree out back is bare.
63. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
64. No pain, no gain.
65.  Pearls of wisdom.
66. Roll with the punches.
67. Like water off a duck’s back.
68. If you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch.
69. Too many chiefs, not enough Indians.
70. Too many chefs spoil the pot.
71. A watched pot never boils.
72. The pot calling the kettle black.
73. Gotta step up to the plate.
74. Born with a silver spoon in their mouth.
75. Don’t wear out your welcome.
76. A silver lining in the cloud
77. Don’t cry over spilled milk.
78. Opinion is like a nose; everybody’s got one.
79. Don’t be a worrywart.
80. You attract more bees with honey than vinegar.
81. Turn that frown upside down.
82. Slow and steady wins the race.
83. Persistence is the key to success.
84. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.
85. Don’t burn the candles at both ends.
86. Locks were made for honest people.
87. Honesty is the best policy.
88. Fast as lightning.
89. Sharp as a tack.
90. Down to earth.
91. Under the weather.
92. On Cloud Nine.
93. In File Thirteen.
94. Sly as a fox.
95. Sit down and take a load off.
96. My dogs are barking.
97. Add fuel to the fire.
98. Put the pedal to the metal.
99. Add insult to injury.
100. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
101. A penny saved is a penny earned.

 

Kindergarten Memories…

It was September 1975 and this little, dirty blond haired girl was super excited to go to a big school just like her older brother and sister.  Just writing that year makes me feel a little ancient, however, it is what it is.  A mere 39 years ago.  Haha!

I went to kindergarten in the afternoon.  The option was either morning or afternoon as it was only a half day schedule.  I remember my teacher vividly.  Her name was Mrs. Segal and she was Indian.  In my small world, I hadn’t seen anyone dress in a sari, so that was different.  She wore a sari every day.  She was always very pleasant and I loved her.  We probably had about twenty students in our class, so it was a busy place.

I remember we learned the alphabet and numbers, played with wooden blocks, colored papers and did finger painting (which was pure joy!)  How’s that compare to today’s standards?  Haha.  (Side note: As a longtime homeschooler, I’ve read many articles about early childhood learning.  There’s such a push for kids to learn things early and from what I’ve read along with my personal beliefs, the final educational outcome is not based on when the child learned a particular skill.  I think I turned out pretty okay after all.)

One of the highlights of being a kindergartener was being selected to go to the cafeteria with a wooden wagon to fetch the milk for lunch time.  We went two by two’s, one girl and one boy.  Of course, the thrill was being the one who got to pull the wagon.  🙂  I always chose chocolate milk for lunch as it was my favorite.

My bus was the orange triangle.  That’s how I knew which bus to get on when school let out.  Isn’t that funny that I remember that after all these years?  I actually hadn’t thought of that until just now.  There was also the yellow circle, blue square and the purple star, but those buses led to other neighborhoods and I would surely be lost.  Simply riding the bus, though, was a big treat for such a little girl.

I’m sure I had a best friend in my class, although I don’t recall that little detail.  From day one, I’ve been a social butterfly, so I likely had a number of friends.  I just liked to talk …

Kindergarten was such a fun experience for me!  Life was carefree and full of learning more about the world around me.  I think it helped pique my curiosity about life and learning.  After all, isn’t that a building block of a solid education?