Remembering Mama part 2

This is me at about age 2 or 2-2-1/2. I was a little doll all right! LOL


I was the caboose. Mama was 40-41 when I was born. The surprise package that doctors told her wouldn't happen! So much for medical knowledge back in the 40's. I was a pretty good kid, although with a much older sister and brother that thought I was spoiled rotten (hardly!) and neither one of them could see the necessity of my being around most of the time.



I also had a bad case of 'wanderlust'. Once I got my bearings on two feet I was constantly wandering off. My sister would come in from school and Mama would inform her that I was gone again and to assist our local police department in finding me! The local cops knew me by name and were aware that I knew nothing about boundaries. I just followed the Sun and butterflies, perhaps a kitten or puppy that I just knew would lead me to exciting adventures. Thank heavens we lived in a very small town in the Napa Wine Valley and just about all the local townspeople knew me too. They were used to me wandering down the main street and pressing my nose against the ice cream parlor window. Eventually a customer inside would come out and offer me a cone! I knew how to play them! LOL


Can you imagine that happening today! I shudder to even think about it.

I would get switched too! I eventually grew out of that as most kids do. I know my sister was glad of that, she was tired of taking up her afternoons hunting me up. I found a kitten once and carried it back to the house with me, up the stairs and onto the upper screened in porch just off the attic. The kitten and I both fell asleep out there. Later on I was awakened by a police officer that had been recruited once again to find me. He was the only one that evidently thought of checking the attic and of course there I was. Got a small switching for that too.

I used to accuse my parents of never moving anywhere unless there were Apple, Peach or Cherry trees close by. I had to go get my own switch and if I didn't get the right one I got extra switches. Don't get me wrong, I was never abused! I made lots of mistakes and was punished for them. But bet me, I never made the same mistake TWICE!

Sometimes I'd made the really bad mistake of running when I was about to get a spanking or the switch. Wrong move. Mama always said she would not chase her kids. They had to come home eventually to eat! LOL Buddy, we would sure get it then! She had a whistle. When we went outside to play which we did lots of (no t.v., game stations, computers) and it would be time to come in, she would blow the whistle. If we didn't come right away she knew we had gone too far and we were in trouble! That was how we knew our boundaries, by the sound of that whistle!

When Mama lost her sight and had to really adjust to a whole different existence there were funny moments even then.

There used to be a group of people from the Deaf-Mute Institute that would come around selling little flowers and would give cards that had the hand signs printed on them. I remember once there came a knock on the door, Mama answered and suddenly called to me to come right away!

When I got to the door I saw what was going on and couldn't help myself, I started laughing. Laughing so hard I couldn't get my breath. There stood Mama, blind, trying to ask the person outside "what do you want, who is it?" She couldn't see him and he couldn't hear her! Of course with me laughing so hard, the man outside didn't know what was going on, even tho' he had a confused smile on his face and Mama was trying to ask me what the heck I was laughing at!

Once I got control of myself and told her then she started laughing too. I wrote out a quick note to the deaf man and told him what was going on. He started laughing too and we all must have looked like idiots, but, it was funny.

Mama always had a way of making things look easy, even tho' the things she did required so much more work than we ever realized. She insisted on doing most things herself. We helped with cooking and cleaning of course, we had chores always. But for her own personal needs, she took care of herself. Once we were all grown and gone, and after Papa passed away, she refused to come live with any of us. She'd say "No way. I have my own hours, I don't like your music and I wouldn't probably keep my mouth shut. It's better we stay friends!" Then she'd laugh, tell us she loved us and to drop by or call once in a while! She was something else.

More later.
Thank you!