DO YOU REMEMBER?
Well, it's almost time for you to turn another year older, my friend and if I'm not mistaken, I believe this will be your sixty second? We first met when I was just 17 or 18 and as we are approximately the same age, that means we were teenagers together. Unbelievable!
Do you remember? We wore white lipstick, nylons, stretch pants with stirrups, full slips, midi coats, maxi pads and mini skirts. We were thin and thought we were fat. We had endless energy and talents but thought we were old and that we would always be struggling and poor. We were newly weds, new mommies and brand new daughter-in-laws.
Do you remember? We weren't cheerleaders in High School anymore nor did we belong to any CGIT or Future Homemakers of Canada Clubs or Girl Guides. No, not us. We didn't tease our hair and go on double-dates to tease our boyfriends. We didn't primp and prance around for hours in a new, sexy outfit. Nor did we sun-bathe while listening to the Beatles or the Beachboys on our transister radios; no, not us.
Do you remember? We learned to bake pies for our small, new families while changing the first of thousands of cloth diapers for our infants. We were busy making formula, sterilizing bottles and nipples, burping and bathing our precious new "dolls." We hung out our laundry every day, we cooked supper every night, we made love to our new husbands and aimed to please everyone but ourselves.
Do you remember? The house we rented had an upstairs apartment that we rented while your small family rented the lower level. The elderly landlord and his wife were in their late 80's and eccentric is the mildest and gentlest word I can find to desribe them. How we laughed! How we cried!
Do you remember? We almost froze to death with such extreme low temperatures in the house, so one of us would sneak to their kitchen to turn up the thermostat. When interrogated, we all denied doing so! Now I'm in my 60's, I can relate to them and can't stand a bedroom with any heat on. And how our Landlady complained of my sexy panties hanging on the line where "Mister" sat outside to see them! Oh my!
Do you remember? "It's hockey night in Canada!" How I hated those long Saturday nights with our husbands either out watching wrestling matches in the city or laying on our only sofa to watch hockey on a small black and white TV with rabbit ears. I'd sit at the kitchen table with the old oilcloth, wishing I was back in Barrington with my school friends, at a street dance or a pyjama party.
Do you remember? We used to let your sons and my daughter play together while we sipped a bottle of pop. We were so proud of each and every accomplishment; we'd clap and hug them and get down on the bare floor with them. My knees hurt now just thinking about it! But how I, too, loved Slinky and Etchesketch and Heidi and coloring books......
Do you remember? Our new husbands went off to work with lunches you and I prepared lovingly and with great imagination. How was I to know that mine didn't like peanut butter with bologna? I loved them! And when I put a note in his lunchbox, his co-worker saw it & teased him by reading it aloud. They were all disappointed when it simply said "Don't forget to cash your check before the bank closes at 3 o'clock."
Do you remember? The day you told me you were moving back to Meaghers Grant? That was earth-shattering to me! You were my model, my anchor, my rock! Who would I try new recipes on, who would tell me how to stop diaper rash, when to add bleach to my whites, how to iron my new silk blouse, how to keep Lisa's ears cleaned out, what to do with my feelings of homesickness.............
Do you remember? I do. And I have always missed you, always been so proud of you for being a foster mother who cared so dilligently and tenderly for so many dozens and dozens of babies and kids who had no start in life. I have always envied you your passion for mothering, for mentoring, for your long marriage to Ross. Your love of family, pets, gardening, home-making....I remember!
Happy Birthday in JANUARY to me and to you in MARCH, my dear friend. We are women who survived the 60's; we were lucky to have found one another and to have God's blessings even into our 6th decade. Our paths turned out very differently, yours and mine yet we are still the same 17 year old girls inside.....frightened at times, courageous at others but always perseverant, determined and unpredictable.
Call me and tell me again how to make that pie crust with crushed graham crackers........
Well, it's almost time for you to turn another year older, my friend and if I'm not mistaken, I believe this will be your sixty second? We first met when I was just 17 or 18 and as we are approximately the same age, that means we were teenagers together. Unbelievable!
Do you remember? We wore white lipstick, nylons, stretch pants with stirrups, full slips, midi coats, maxi pads and mini skirts. We were thin and thought we were fat. We had endless energy and talents but thought we were old and that we would always be struggling and poor. We were newly weds, new mommies and brand new daughter-in-laws.
Do you remember? We weren't cheerleaders in High School anymore nor did we belong to any CGIT or Future Homemakers of Canada Clubs or Girl Guides. No, not us. We didn't tease our hair and go on double-dates to tease our boyfriends. We didn't primp and prance around for hours in a new, sexy outfit. Nor did we sun-bathe while listening to the Beatles or the Beachboys on our transister radios; no, not us.
Do you remember? We learned to bake pies for our small, new families while changing the first of thousands of cloth diapers for our infants. We were busy making formula, sterilizing bottles and nipples, burping and bathing our precious new "dolls." We hung out our laundry every day, we cooked supper every night, we made love to our new husbands and aimed to please everyone but ourselves.
Do you remember? The house we rented had an upstairs apartment that we rented while your small family rented the lower level. The elderly landlord and his wife were in their late 80's and eccentric is the mildest and gentlest word I can find to desribe them. How we laughed! How we cried!
Do you remember? We almost froze to death with such extreme low temperatures in the house, so one of us would sneak to their kitchen to turn up the thermostat. When interrogated, we all denied doing so! Now I'm in my 60's, I can relate to them and can't stand a bedroom with any heat on. And how our Landlady complained of my sexy panties hanging on the line where "Mister" sat outside to see them! Oh my!
Do you remember? "It's hockey night in Canada!" How I hated those long Saturday nights with our husbands either out watching wrestling matches in the city or laying on our only sofa to watch hockey on a small black and white TV with rabbit ears. I'd sit at the kitchen table with the old oilcloth, wishing I was back in Barrington with my school friends, at a street dance or a pyjama party.
Do you remember? We used to let your sons and my daughter play together while we sipped a bottle of pop. We were so proud of each and every accomplishment; we'd clap and hug them and get down on the bare floor with them. My knees hurt now just thinking about it! But how I, too, loved Slinky and Etchesketch and Heidi and coloring books......
Do you remember? Our new husbands went off to work with lunches you and I prepared lovingly and with great imagination. How was I to know that mine didn't like peanut butter with bologna? I loved them! And when I put a note in his lunchbox, his co-worker saw it & teased him by reading it aloud. They were all disappointed when it simply said "Don't forget to cash your check before the bank closes at 3 o'clock."
Do you remember? The day you told me you were moving back to Meaghers Grant? That was earth-shattering to me! You were my model, my anchor, my rock! Who would I try new recipes on, who would tell me how to stop diaper rash, when to add bleach to my whites, how to iron my new silk blouse, how to keep Lisa's ears cleaned out, what to do with my feelings of homesickness.............
Do you remember? I do. And I have always missed you, always been so proud of you for being a foster mother who cared so dilligently and tenderly for so many dozens and dozens of babies and kids who had no start in life. I have always envied you your passion for mothering, for mentoring, for your long marriage to Ross. Your love of family, pets, gardening, home-making....I remember!
Happy Birthday in JANUARY to me and to you in MARCH, my dear friend. We are women who survived the 60's; we were lucky to have found one another and to have God's blessings even into our 6th decade. Our paths turned out very differently, yours and mine yet we are still the same 17 year old girls inside.....frightened at times, courageous at others but always perseverant, determined and unpredictable.
Call me and tell me again how to make that pie crust with crushed graham crackers........
