Moments become memories. Here are some of mine.
viaI remember hearing my father getting ready for work well before dawn. He delivered mail out on remote country roads.
I remember my mom and dad taking us to this drive-in theatre in Rule, Texas. Mom always dressed us in pajamas beforehand.
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As a mom of three little kids who were just three years apart in age, I know now that it made it easier on her to put us to bed late at night, but at the time, I hated it . . .
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. . . especially when she made us help her buy snacks at the concession stand, and carry them back to the car.
It embarrassed me.
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I remember feeding Grandma’s chickens as a child. I remember the delight of of seeing the darling baby chicks and being a little scared of the grown chickens. Some were aggressive. I remember she got rid of them and took down the chicken coop as soon as she could. She told me much later in life that chickens were always so nasty. She loved everything to be sparkling clean at all times.
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I remember our mom teaching me and my sister to cook at an early age, and how she’d tell us as youngsters that supper was our responsibility from time to time. Of course, we made very basic things like macaroni and cheese and Hamburger Helper, but we were still very proud of ourselves.
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I remember playing with horny toads. Rubbing their bellies. I can’t remember the last time I saw one.
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I remember the time I found a mama mouse huddled over her tiny newborn babies inside some cardboard boxes in my garage. Mama was so terrified, shivering visibly, but she did not leave her babies. Weeks later, several grown mice invaded my home and I trapped and killed them. It still makes me sad thinking about it.
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I remember playing on monkey bars. I never made it to the top, though. I was (and still am) terrified of heights. It’s (not really) funny how much used to be allowed at schools versus now.
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I remember the made-up stories my Uncle Ronnie used to tell us and act out about the Monster of Verhalen Farm. Oh, how we used to delight and shriek with laughter!
This post brings back so many similar memories for me, too. 🙂
Awesome.
I so love the photos of the little girl cooking and the monkey bars. I loved the monkey bars and playing dodge ball. Makes me sad how kids are so sheltered today. I hope the insanity stops soon and kids get to enjoy being kids.
I hope so, too, but honestly, I don’t think it will.
Good post!
Thanks, Cher!
Loved the pictures.
We use to catch horned toads and rub their bellies until they fell asleep!
That was so funny about your mom making you wear your PJ’s to the drive in. I can understand that would embarrass you. Life was much simpler then 🙂
Kim, this is a charming post! I remember going to the drive-in movie at Tulia, Texas as a child – seeing Bambi, Mary Poppins and other movies. My mom always dressed us in pajamas, too! Our drive in had a small playground area in which I enjoyed playing. I don’t remember being embarrassed about the pajamas, maybe because other kids were wearing them, too. I remember eating hamburgers, the speakers rolled up in the car windows, and my mom holding my head down in the car seat when something came on screen she didn’t think I should see. Funny how vivid these memories are…We played with horny toads, too. I saw one a few years ago, but they’re rare now. I think the insecticides have killed them off. We had them in town as well as the country back then…
Thanks, Revi! I don’t guess I ever saw other kids wearing PJ’s. If I had, I probably would have been less embarrassed. I heard someone say once that horny toads were not seen as much because of fire ants, but pesticides sound very plausible also.
This was a great post, and brought back a lot of wonderful memories for me too. I wasn’t from Texas, but lived on a rural route outside of town in northern Illinois. We used to have our milk delivered, and bakery products too! No horny toads for us, but I did have white mice as pets (looking back I can’t believe my mother allowed that!) The monkey bars are definitely a good memory, and all the little girls in dresses! Schools have had to get rid of these often due to insurance costs. It is sad. We lived in a small town with a nice size lake, and it had several great public beaches with lots of play equipment: big slides, diving platforms, rafts, water wheels. People from Chicago and the suburbs frequented these beaches all summer long. These beaches have all had to close down in the last 10-12 years due to the exorbitant insurance costs. Most are now developed into condo/townhouse developments with beach access. The times they are a changing!
I’m happy to hear that you identified with some of my memories. I guess we are all connected in some way. I think it would be fun to have a mouse as a pet one day, but it’ll have to be when I don’t have a Jack Russell! 🙂 I knew schools had gotten rid of monkey bars, but I thought it might have been because of overprotective parents, but insurance reasons makes total sense also. Liability insurance is ridiculously expensive. I can see why theme parks have closed down, too. Times have indeed changed and not for the better in many cases, in my opinion.
Oh memories! Monkey bars, drive in movie theaters, and horny toads. It’s been forever since I saw one too – how sad.
What a fun post! Makes me recall some similar memories! Now I try to remember that everyday what I do as a grandma and Mom is making memories for my granddaughters and kids.
Thanks for the memories! I grew up in Odessa. Of course, that means we share some of the same west Texas memories including the horny toad! Judy in OKC
I’m glad that we connected, Judy!