Flashback Friday

Did you and your family watch the Olympics when you were growing up? Which was your overall favorite - summer or winter? Which individual events were your favorites? Since blogging is international, which country did you cheer for? Have you ever been to an Olympics or known anyone who competed? What are some of the hallmark memories of the Olympics that you remember? Did the Olympics ever inspire you to take a certain sport (or practice more!)? Do you prefer watching them the old way when everything was delayed in the days before 24-hour cable and internet? Do you watch them more or less today than you did when you were growing up? What about the Special Olympics? Have you ever had any involvement with them?

Oh, how I used to LOVE the Olympics!  Summer, winter...it didn't matter.  The athletes were so incredibly awesome, competing for their country.  And, they were all amateurs!  Amazing!  During the Summer Olympics, my favorite sports were gymnastics and diving.  In the Winter:  ice skating and downhill skiing.  I loved how we would spend evenings around the tv, cheering on our athletes.  I think they have lost a little bit of their luster now that they're rotating every 2 years:  Last year was the winter, in 2 years it will be the summer.  And, the professional athletes have taken away from the excitement, too.  Remember Nadia Comenici?  And Mary Lou Retton?  And Tai Babylonia and Randy Gardner?  You've gotta remember Dorothy Hamill!
I don't know anyone who has competed in the Olympics, but supposedly my MIL was on the Danish Olympic Swim Team until some kind of muscle problem kept her from training.  What an honor it must be for those athletes to be selected to represent their country.
You would think, with my profession, that I would have some involvement with Special Olympics.  I did go to a regional event when we lived in SC.  Since they are held during school hours, I don't get to go.  The special ed classes at school participate, but since most of my students are in the regular ed classroom, I have to stay back and actually do what I'm getting paid to do.
I always thought it would be so incredibly neat to hang out in the athlete's village.  I envisioned the athletes mingling and sitting around playing cards with athletes from other countries.  I realize it's not really like that, but that's just how I thought it was.  Especially for the winter olympics.
The Olympics haven't been without their tragedies, either.  The Munich Massacre in 1972.  The bombing incident in Atlanta in 1996.  And, most recently, the luger who died during a practice run last year.
Although politics shouldn't play a part in the Olympics, we all know that they have been the reason for boycotts throughout its history.  I always felt so badly for the amateur athletes who trained their whole lives to be able to compete in the Olympics, just to have that taken away from them by the leaders of their countries.  I don't think I would feel quite so badly now, since so many professional athletes are participating.
I could go on and on about the Olympics.  They definitely aren't what they were when I was growing up.

Christmas Time is Here

When did you open Christmas presents when you were growing up? Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? If you traveled, did your parents take the gifts, or did you open them early or late? Did your parents have Santa leave presents? Were they wrapped or unwrapped? Did you have stockings? What was generally in those? Were gifts simple and practical or more extravagant? Did you give presents to your parents and siblings? Were they homemade or purchased? If purchased, did you pay with your own money or did your parents pay? What are memories of special gifts you received? Did you ever peek and find out what your gifts were ahead of time? Did presents gradually appear under the tree in the days leading up to Christmas and were you allowed to touch/shake them?

We always opened presents on Christmas Day.  It seems like we always begged to open one on Christmas Eve, and were allowed to.  Of course, that was before Santa came.  We didn't have a fireplace in our house, so we put our stockings on the footpost of the bed or on the doorknob of the door to our room.  In our stockings, we always had a tangerine and candy.  
If I'm remembering correctly, Santa wrapped out presents.  One year, Santa thought it would be a good idea to put all of my presents in one big box, so I only had one big present to open.  This is going to sound really bratty, but that was one of the most disappointing Christmases I've ever had.  My parents did the best they could buying presents for all 10 of us.  Most of our presents were practical; there were very few times we got anything that wasn't practical.  Definitely nothing name brand.  And, it seemed like every year, my sister & I would always get the same thing, but in a different color.  She's 18 months older than I, so I know it had to have bothered her more than it did me.
Since there were 10 kids, we would draw names.  We spent many evenings staring at the presents and picking them up, shaking them to see if we could figure out what was in them.  I'm sure we made things in school for our parents, but, honestly, I can't remember.  I remember being overjoyed at getting a hula hoop one Christmas.  
When I was really little, we would draw names with cousins on my mom's side in Texas.  Oh, the anticipation of waiting for the UPS man to deliver the packages!  The anticipation is what made Christmas so special.
We had to wait until everybody woke up to open presents.  As the older ones got older, it was extremely hard to wait for them to get up, especially since us younger ones were usually up by 6:00. A couple of us would hand out the presents, then, daddy would count down and we would all open our presents.   Talk about total and complete mayhem!  Papers flying everywhere; it seems like every year someone would lose some little present and there would be tears.  But, it would always be found, even if the mounds of wrapping paper were sifted through.  As soon as the presents would open, daddy would insist that everything be taken to our rooms.  Christmas at my house now seems really low-key, with only 3 kids.  But, a lot of it's the same:  the tearing into presents, and someone losing something.  It wouldn't be Christmas without it!

 This is me during an early Christmas.  I look to be about 3, maybe 4? Here's the funny thing:  here's another picture of that same Christmas.  Look what my sister that's 18 months older than me has in her hand!

 And you thought I was joking!

Flashing Back to Turkey Day

Linda at Mocha with Linda provides us with flashbacks on Fridays so we can relive our youth and see how it affected our adult life.  Here are this week's prompts:

What was Thanksgiving like when you were growing up? What days did you usually have off from school? Do you remember any Thanksgiving activities at school, such as a play or a meal? During the Thanksgiving weekend, did you travel to spend it with relatives or did you stay home? Or did relatives travel to you? What was your family's day typically like? Did you watch the Macy's Parade or something else on TV? Have you ever attended a Thanksgiving parade? Was football a big part of the day? And of course, we have to hear what your family ate! Were there any traditional foods that were part of your family's meal? Which of your growing-up traditions do you do with your family today? And if you are married, how did it go merging your two traditions/expectations?

We only had Thursday & Friday off for Thanksgiving when I was growing up.  Since both of my parents are from Tx., we wouldn't go anywhere for dinner. I don't remember anything special going on at school, except a not-so-good lunch of what they called a Thanksgiving lunch, but I always took my lunch to school, so it didn't matter to me.   I remember waking up on Thanksgiving morning, smelling the turkey roasting in the oven already. We'd get up and anxiously await the Macy's Parade to start on tv.  Oh, it was the best thing EVER.  Just having one tv when I was little, it was "watch what daddy wants to watch or watch nothing at all", so there was definitely football on at the house.  The Tx. A&M and Univ. of Tx. was always a must that weekend.  Gig 'em, Aggies!    Mom actually put down a tablecloth, but I don't remember if we ate off of "real plates" or paper plates.  Of course we would have turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, some kind of jello/fruit salad, and rolls.  I'm sure cranberry sauce was in there somewhere, but, ewwww.  Something about seeing it come out of that can just doesn't do for me.  

After I got married, our tradition changed a bit.  Since there are so many of us, we switch holidays with the family and with in-laws.  This year is our turn to be at home for Thanksgiving, and with in-laws for Christmas, although it doesn't really turn out that way.  Mom  is a big believer in making your own traditions, which is what she had to do after she & daddy got married and moved to Tn.   With the boys playing high school football, and the high school having a game on Thanksgiving weekend for the past 6 years (this year makes it 7, but we're here even though YS is in the band), we haven't been able to go anywhere on the "off-year" Thanksgiving.  And, this  year, a few of my siblings just don't seem to realize that it's our turn to be home, and 1 has decided to go to her step-daughter's house on the other side of the state (even though she said they weren't going back...but that's a whole different story).  And, my youngest brother isn't coming in because the stupid airlines have jacked up their prices, AND my oldest sister isn't coming in because she wants to save her vacation days until her 2 boys come in for Christmas.  Then we have one of my sisters who is doing something with her sons, another sister who is going to be entertaining her elderly MIL while her hubby & sons are hunting, and a brother who is going to his son's house for dinner.  So, we will have a meager 21 people at my house for Thanksgiving Dinner, 22 if you want to count my niece's new baby.  So there you have it.  I don't know if that's what Linda had in mind, but, yeah, I'm a little ticked that people aren't following the rules this year, and, yeah, I'm a little ticked that we aren't going to DC to see my BIL & SIL because it's our year to be home and I spoke up and said we could have dinner at our house...again.  And, yeah, I'm also a little ticked because everybody is having to bring a couple to a few things this year instead of just one.  But it's going to be okay, right?

 So, I have 6 days to get the house in order and make a couple of pies, and make sure we have enough tables and chairs.  That's along with having annual reviews and initial placements at work.  I have no idea why I do this to myself.

Flashback Friday & Follow Friday 40 and Over

How was your family structured when you were growing up? Did you grow up with both original parents in the home? If your parents divorced, did you go back and forth between them? Whether divorced or widowed, did your parent remarry? How old were you? Was yours a multi-generational household with grandparents living with you? Did your mom work outside the home, and if so, was it full-time or part-time? Was there a clearly delineated division of labor between your parents (or parent and step-parent) and how traditional was it? Did your parents believe in child labor?! That is, how structured were chores? What responsibility, if any, did you have for things like doing your own laundry, fixing your own school lunch, etc.? Were your parents do-it-yourself-ers or did they hire people for repairs, painting, etc.? Is your current marriage/family structure similar to the way you were raised? What do you do differently than you did then?

I was extremely fortunate to grow up with both of my parents, in fact, they have been married for 56 years.  Mom was a stay at home mom; she had 10 babies in 14 years!  When I was in high school, she decided to go back to work.  She was a nurse by training, so she took some refresher courses, and went to work in a hospital.  She worked nights a few times a week.  When I was little, mom took care of the cooking, cleaning, and most of the child-raising.  My dad was a hard worker and a good provider for his family.  Dad took care of the outside and any repairs that needed to be done.  I've mentioned this before:  My daddy can do just about anything.  It was very rare when he called someone in for repairs.
As for child labor, each of us had a chore to do every day.  The older girls were the dish washers, and us younger ones were the driers.  My parents still don't have a mechanical dishwasher.  Then there were the Saturday chores:  clean our rooms, and the girls cleaned the bathrooms.  What did the boys do, you ask? They mowed the yard and helped daddy with "guy things".  During the summer, when my brothers got in trouble, their punishment was to guard the cherry tree and shoot the birds with their bb gun.  Here's the funny thing:  I don't remember ever eating any cherries off of that tree.
Mama fixed our lunches for school every day.  She also did our laundry, including folding them.  She would sort the folded clothes into stacks for each of us, then we would put them away.  
Our house is the same in some ways, but different in others.  I do the laundry:  wash, dry, and fold.  I wash each boys' clothes separately; mostly because each boy had a full load by himself.  They have been responsible for putting their clothes up.  However, all of the boys know how to wash their own clothes, and YS sometimes does his laundry on his own.  
The boys were also responsible for putting their own dishes in the dishwasher.  There have been many times when I have called them in to put their dishes in the dishwasher instead of in the sink.  I unload the dishwasher, but the boys have always been good about doing it if I ask.
CH takes care of the outside, and I take care of cleaning the inside.  You know how you always hear that you marry someone like your father?  Well, CH can do almost as much as my daddy can!  He is pretty handy with fixing things, but we do call for outside help more than my parents did.  Times have changed, and it seem that we just don't have the spare time my parents did.
My boys have almost always bought school lunch.  Every now and then they would want their lunch packed, and I would take care of that for them.
I grew up in a very structured household, and I think our household was pretty much the same.  I always thought it was important for the boys to be on a schedule, and be structured.  It worked for me, anyway!
My parents did a great job raising us:  we learned to work and respect others.  We learned to have fun, even though we didn't have a lot of material things.  I wouldn't trade my upbringing for anything!

Flashback Friday & Follow Friday 40 & Over

I hesitated to do this week's Flashback because there are so many things I could say about music in my life!  So, I'll try to keep it simple!

This week's prompts:

What role did music play in your growing up years? What, if any, music do you associate with early childhood? What music style or songs were popular when you were in high school? How did you listen to music - on the radio, albums, etc. Did you have a stereo in your room? Did you attend concerts when you were a teenager? Did the music you liked cause conflict with your parents? What song or songs take you back to a certain place and time of your youth?

My mother wanted to be a concert pianist when she grew up.  So, obviously we had a lot of music in the house when I was growing up.  All different kinds of music.  And, having older siblings (the oldest is 9 years older than I), I was exposed to the great music in the late 60's when the oldest siblings were teenagers.  A 60's song will come on the radio and I'll be taken back to the pool, seeing the teenagers sitting out on the grassy area with their towels and blankets, radios blaring.  Especially "Brandy" by Looking Glass.  Yes, I know this came out in 1972 (because I looked it up...gotta love the 'net!).  I was a child of the 70's and loved everything from Barry Manilow  to some Van Halen & AC/DC.  I even got into some Oak Ridge Boys and Alabama!  Then there are the show tunes from musicals.  At one point when the boys were little, I bought the soundtrack from Oklahoma and would blare it on the car radio, singing along at the top of my voice, much to the horror of the boys.  (But that's our right as a parent, correct?)
Okay, back to the topic!  I listened to the radio, but I did get a portable 8-track player for Christmas one year.  My music never conflicted with my parents' taste...not that I know of, anyway.  My parents were really good to not say anything if they didn't like it!  I never went to any concerts.  My first concert ever was one of the best bands of all time:  Chicago.  And, it was when I was in college.  I also saw  Loverboy when I was in college.  And that completes the list of concerts I've seen...except for The Judds when OS was little.
My mother's family was very music-oriented.  One of her brothers (who was a priest) taught us a lot of cool bible songs...I guess he's the one who introduced me to Christian music! Even though I don't hear those songs, just thinking about them takes me back to when we had visits from family in Tx., or when we would go to visit family in Tx.
 
There are so many songs that remind me of different times in my life.  The Supremes (Where Did our Love Go and Stop in the Name of Love) remind me of when I was 4 or 5 and my older siblings were in school.  Mom would put the record on the player for me while I played with my dolls.  Then there was the Cowsills (Remember them?  They sang "Hair" and "Love American Style")...I used to sneak my older brother's album and play that when he wasn't home.  Then of course, there is Chicago that reminds me of summer nights growing up.  I could go on & on boring you, so I think I'll stop before people stop following!
I'll leave you with one of my favorite Cowsill songs.  (Trivia:  The Cowsills were approached to be in a tv series, but the role of the mom had already been filled so they turned it down.  The tv series?  The Partridge Family, which is probably what drew me to them!)

Flashback Friday & Follow Friday 40 and Over

This week's prompt:

What type of extra-curricular school activities did you participate in during your school days? Clubs? Spelling bees or other contests? Cheerleader or drill team? Sports? Journalism? Choir or theater? Were there any memorable events related to those? Did you receive any awards? Were football games a big deal at your school? Did you usually attend - and was it with a group or as a date? What was Homecoming like?

When I was in elementary school, I was the school champion for the spelling bee.  That meant I got to move on to the county-wide spelling bee...in front of a lot of people.  I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I'm not a "get in front of people" kind of person.  So, yeah, I pretty much was out in the first few rounds.  I played basketball in elementary school, but mostly sat on the bench.  Which was fine with me, because I don't like to get up in front of people and perform.  In jr. high I started playing tennis.  I was okay; not great, and definitely not a natural.  But I really enjoyed it.  I continued playing in high school, and ended up being #1 my senior year.  But that was because the best player in school didn't play.  She's been mentioned in some of my posts before:  the "mean girl" from my class.  She was good at everything she tried.  

I started playing flute in the band when I was in 5th grade, and continued band actually through college and even beyond.  There are so many stories from band trips to tell!  There was the time we were going to a band contest a couple of hours away, but the venue had to be changed to inside because there were tornado warnings out.  (Which is kind of unusual for our part of the country)

Then there was the contest we went to when it had been raining forever.  One of the trombone players lost his shoe on the field, and one of the rifles had her rifle hit her in the eye near the beginning of the show.  She stayed on the field and marched the show with her hand over her eye.  I was a band officer my senior year, and was given the "John Phillip Sousa" award at graduation.  At graduation, I also received the Spanish Award.  

I was looking through some old scrapbooks a couple of months ago, and found a newspaper clipping.  The Y-Teens at school donated a book to the library.  I have no recollection of that event happening, but I must've been involved because I'm handing the book to the librarian!  I do remember going to some awesome Y-Teen dances, though!

Football games were a huge deal my sophomore-senior years: we won the state championship 3 years in a row.  One of the championships was played (you guessed it) in the rain.  It had been raining for about a week, and the field was soaked.  Our rival school (which is about 10 minutes from where I went to school) was also playing in the state championship for their class.  (This was when the state championship was played at one of the school's home field...now it's played at a neutral site.)  Their field was in a lot worse shape than ours, so they asked if they could play their game on our field.  A helicopter was brought in to dry the field the day of the game.  We played our game first (since we were a really small school), then they cleared the stands and made everybody leave the stadium.  Then, people who wanted to see the other game paid as they came back in.  Homecoming has never been a really big deal at the high school.  The big thing was the homecoming queen, but even that had some drama to it.   If you know anything about me, you know I don't like  drama.

Then there was AFS...American Field Service.  If you don't know anything about AFS, it's a student exchange program.  This was the club to be in during high school.  We hosted a foreign exchange student, but the big draw was the yearly big short-term exchange.  My sophomore year was with Hingham (Ma.) High School,  junior year it was with Mayo High School in Rochester, Minnesota, and my senior was with Gloucester (Va.) High School.  We went up for a week, stayed with a host family,  went to school with our host brother/sister, and did some sight-seeing.  Then, about a month later, they would come down and stay in our houses, go to school, and do some sight-seeing.  There may have been some shenanigans on the trip, but, me being the rule-follower I am, I did not partake in them.  I was too afraid of getting in trouble and getting suspended from school to do anything. 

 That's pretty much all I was involved in during my school days.  I stayed busy and had a lot of fun, but I was ready to get out of high school and get on with my life!

Join in with Flashback Friday and Follow Friday 40 and Over...Don't forget to link up!

Friday's Fave Five, Friday Follow, AND Flashback Friday

1.  This has to be #1 on my list for this week!  Spending the day with this handsome young man:

2. A quote from one of the school psychologists from her Facebook Status:   
"I'm going to alter my thinking so that instead of looking at this as the last day of summer vacation, I'm going to think of tomorrow as the first day toward next summer break."

3.  An unexpected dinner out.  I bought some chicken that already had marinade on it.  Add that to husband grilling at 500 degrees and what do you get?  WHOOSH!  I looked outside and noticed there was an awful lot of smoke out there!  Good thing the hose was close by!  And, to top that off, when we got  to the restaurant and I opened up the menu, the first thing I saw was:  Crispy Chicken Salad.  I think the waitress thought I was out of my mind when I started laughing!

4.   A quote from another friend on Facebook:   
"Some say the glass is half full some say half empty; I say who keeps drinking my drink?"

5.  The last lunch of summer with YS.  I go back to work today, and he picks up his schedule, then he starts classes on Monday.  Where did the summer go?   But more importantly:  when am I going to get in my afternoon naps?


 What are your FFF for the week?  Go visit Susanne and link up!   Don't forget to link up at Java's for Follow Friday 40 and Over!

Okay, okay!  This week's Flashback is pretty good, so I've gotta participate in it, too!

What were meals like when you were growing up? Did your mom (or dad) cook (and was it from scratch or from a box?) or did your family eat out much of the time? Did you eat together as a family or was everyone on a different schedule? What did you call meals? (Dinner vs. supper, lunch, etc.) 
As a rule, we ate supper together.  In fact, it was  rare when all 12 of us (10 kids  + mom & dad) didn't all sit down together.  We had a really long table with chairs on one side, and a long bench on the other.  At either end there were chairs for mama & daddy.  The older kids got to sit in the chairs, so it was a big deal  as they started moving out and someone else took their place.   Mom did all of the cooking since she was a stay at home mom.  Although, she says that she didn't know how to cook when she & daddy got married and credits daddy with teaching her how to cook.  For breakfast and lunch we were pretty much on our own.  I do remember when I was little, sitting down as a family for Sunday brunch. 
What were some of your favorite things that your parent fixed? What did you dislike and vow never to fix once you grew up? 
It seems like  we had roast a bunch on Sundays.  I absolutely hated lima beans.  One time, I came to supper with my batman boots, slid them off, and snuck the beans into the slippers.  (One of the advantages to being in a big family...my parents were preoccupied with someone else!)
Did your family have any food traditions, things that were a must on certain occasions (such as Sunday dinners or holiday meals)? 
I've already mentioned Sunday brunch.  Holidays were major meals!  Easter:  ham & potato salad, Christmas & Thanksgiving:  Turkey & mashed potatoes.  Of course we had other things; those were just the "main" parts!  OH, and how can I forget Friday nights?  Being Catholic, we either had fish sticks, mac & cheese, and peas OR "Catholic Casserole", aka Tuna Casserole.  It wasn't until we had all grown up that mama found out daddy didn't like fish sticks & peas!  The poor man stuck it out all those years!
Did your parent teach you to cook or did you wing it once you were grown? How similar or different are your family's eating habits today than when you grew up?
I pretty much winged it after I got married.  Mama was never farther than a phone call away, and she got plenty of calls!
We eat together as a family as much as we can.  That may mean that we eat later or earlier than usual, but we think it's  very important to come together at least once a day.  We eat out some...when I was growing up we never ate out.  I think I was in jr. high before I had ever even been to a fast food restaurant.  When I was in jr.high or high school (I don't remember exactly when this happened), daddy's job changed in the company and he switched shifts every week or so.  When he was on night shift, that was "hamburger week"!  It gave mama a little big of a break from cooking, and gave us a rare treat!
When people I've known for most of my life reminisce about coming over to our house, they always talk about the long table with the bench against the wall.  And the noise.  We were happy eaters!

Share your answers by linking up at Linda's!

I Just Can't Decide!

 

I had to do a FFF this week.  I had several pictures/things  that were my absolute favorites of the week!  And, of course, Follow Friday 40 & Over is a fun meme, too! And, if you're stopping by from Flashback Friday, feel free to keep reading or scroll down until you see the button!
Hold on to your britches...here we go!


1.  Y'all know that MS (the one that's 18) is working as a lifeguard at the local public pool, right?  Well, he had a goal at the beginning of the summer:  collect  spare change that he found in the bottom of the pool so that he could buy this:

It's an "IronMan" helmet.  I made the mistake of calling it a mask,  which he quickly corrected.  He saved the change until he had enough money:  around $35.  He hit that mark this week, and went to WalMart and got his helmet! The eyes even light up and the helmet talks.  He was so proud! He said it was like getting it for free.  Funny, funny young man!
The other day I was in the driveway, and noticed a Victoria's Secret bag  on the ground.  When I picked it up, I saw IronMan underwear in it!  I took it in and he said that his pool manager and another lifeguard bought it for him!  They tried to get him to model them, but I think he drew the line at that...at least that's what he led me to believe!


2.  I bought the most refreshing drink at the liquor store the other day:

All you have to do is cool it down and pour it into a glass.  Very, very good.  The lady at the liquor store said that some people will buy the ready-to-drink bottles, then add a little more alcohol.  I really must be a light weight, 'cause if I added any more to it, I don't know that I'd pass a breathalyzer test after one drink!


3.  We have a bridge in our small  town that has been the sight of many egg fights during our rivalry week, and has been painted so much, that I think paint is the only thing holding the bridge up.  This was on the bridge earlier this week:

It's a good thing I took the picture when I did, because it had been painted over the next day!

4.  Don't let this picture fool you:

I know she looks like a calm, docile, sweet puppy, but she is, in fact, "The Great Skink Hunter".  When the door is open, she will  dart out in search of her prey.  If a skink should happen to come onto the porch, she will chase it away with her fierce bark.  She is quite the protector!

5.  Since the 4th was this week, I have to include a picture from our get together at my brother's.  I know I said I wasn't going to post a picture of family without asking, but....whatever!

Okay, I just realized that it is actually one of my sister's pictures 'cause I'm in it!  Thanks for the picture, Tina!  (Ha, ha!)

Okay, just one more thing.  Look at the icon under today on the weather planner:

Yeah.  I'll believe it when I see it.

I haven't done Linda's Flashback Friday or talked about my childhood in a while, so I thought I'd join in this week!  Here are the prompts:


Were you prone to accidents and injuries when you were growing up? Did you ever break a bone? Knock out any teeth? Get stitches? 
I wasn't prone to accidents when I was growing up.  The worst thing that happened was when I was 5:  my parents had some old friends visiting from somewhere (or we had family in from Tx...I don't really remember who was there), and we  were taking turns jumping off of the bunk bed onto a mattress on the floor.  I jumped off and missed the mattress, knocking out my 2 front teeth.  I led a very boring life!

Have you ever ridden in the back of an ambulance? Did you ever have surgery or spend any time in a hospital? 
The only time I rode in the back of an ambulance was when I was 3 months pregnant with OS and was in a car accident.  Someone pulled out in front of me and I t-boned him.  The passenger in the other car was elderly, and the EMT's  were checking her out.  When they got around to checking on me, I told them that my chest was hurting (turns out it was from the seat belt) and that I was pregnant.  They were on me like  white on rice!  While all this was going on, the counselor from school  & her husband drove by and realized it was me.  Ann knew that husband was away at an Army School and I was alone, so they stopped.  She rode with me to the hospital.  On the way, the heart monitor  started going crazy.  All I could think was, "So this is what it feels like to die", followed by, "Quit being an idiot!  There's nothing wrong with you!"  Turns out the EMT was stepping on the lead, causing it to go crazy.
I had no surgeries growing up.  As an adult, I've had my gallbladder removed and a torn meniscus repair.  The most time I've spent in a hospital  was when I had my babies.  I was suppose  to have my tonsils removed when I was in jr.high, but I had no time for that.  I still have my tonsils. 

How did your folks treat injuries and illnesses? With lots of TLC or by telling you to get a stiff upper lip? Was there a particular home remedy that your mom (or dad or whoever!) used or any "traditions" involving injuries or illnesses?
We had very good professional  care when we got sick:  my mom  was a nurse.  She wouldn't let us milk it, though!  

What's the worst injury (or illness) you had when you were growing up?
It seems like every winter I would get the flu along with tonsillitis.   A high fever went along with it.  The fevers were high enough that I would hallucinate.  And, I would always have the same hallucinations:  there were little people living in my closet.  That's all I'm going to say about that!  I think I've said enough way too much already!


Thank you Susanne, Java, and Linda for hosting the memes!  Join in by visiting their sites...don't forget to link up!

Family Flashback Friday

This week's Flashback Friday is all about families.  I am the 8th child of 10 (6 girls, 4 boys); the youngest girl.  There are 9 years between myself and the oldest;  there are 4 years between myself and the older of my younger brothers.  My parents' house has 6 bedrooms, so we all double-upped with the sleeping arrangements.  The goal was to get to sleep downstairs, although by the time I was old enough to sleep down there, I was too much of a chicken to do it!  Growing up was tough...everybody telling you what to do, jumping out of corners and hitting you (one brother in particular), and of course the incessantly being picked on.  I consider the brother who bothered me the most one of my best friends.  Our boys are very close in age, so we share that bond, too.
When we all get together, there's a lot of laughing and kidding around.  All of us live in the area, except for  the oldest and the youngest, who live in different states.  Another sister lives a couple of hours away, but she's still in the same state...barely!  I think we all get along pretty well.  I do think that being the 8th child has shaped my ability to get along well with other people, no matter what their background.  I don't like confrontations, and have a hard time telling people "no".  My sisters & sisters-in-law are my absolute best friends.  If I ever need anybody to talk to, they're the ones I go to.  Blood is definitely thicker than water, and I know that they'll be there no matter what.
The only thing that one of my siblings did that I really wanted to do was being an exchange student...to Belgium.  I wanted to live in a different country ever since I can remember.  Well, my sister went, came back, and made some choices that my parents weren't crazy about (understatement of the year!), so that pretty much cut me out of being able to do anything like that.  To this day, I'm still harboring a little bit of resentment about that.
I do think that the older kids were more independent than the youngest 4 of us, especially me.  Maybe it was being the youngest girl, but I really didn't become that independent until I was in college.  I was perfectly content to stay at home and not go running around, especially my senior year in high school.  I was always afraid of getting in trouble, which may be because, with fewer kids at home, more attention would be on me.
It wasn't until my junior year in high school that I went to school alone.  I was all by myself at the high school for my junior & senior years.  It was hard to try to fill some of my sisters' shoes...I really didn't have to worry about filling my brothers'...they were both quite the handful!  I don't think my  younger brothers had any trouble filling mine.  When I was in first grade, the nuns would threaten to tell one of my older siblings if I didn't behave; I really don't think they could have cared less what their bratty little sister was into this time!
When I was growing up I wished I had been born into a smaller family, but, looking back at all of the memories and the love that are there, I wouldn't have my life be any different than it was.  Well, maybe being an exchange student would've been nice, but other than that...!  (I know, I know...I really need to let that go!)

I'm off to see everybody else's response!  Go link up at Mocha with Linda for Flashback Friday!

How Many Memes Can You Get in One Post?

(Yes, I'm one of "those" people who hate to be left out of anything!)

Wow!  I can't believe it's that time already!  Time to link up with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story with your Friday's Fave 5 for this week.

1.  Middle Son (MS) before the soccer game on Tues. night (He's #16).  These 2 injured players are both seniors and have been good friends to MS this year.

  2.  This is a sure sign of summer!  I don't care how old you are, there is still a sense of excitement when we see the public pool being filled up:

3.  
A newly discovered blog:  The Daily Dribbles.  Here's a down-to-earth girl who doesn't seem to take herself too seriously!

4.  MS' high school soccer team playing in the District Championship.  They lost a hard fought game 2-1, but will probably get another chance at this team next Thursday.  Maybe third time will be a charm.

5.  My ticker saying next week is the last week of school!  Man, this year has flown by, but I say: "Adios"! 

Since the theme of this week ties in to #2, I decided to give it a whirl!  (So many memes, so little time!)  Linda at Mocha With Linda is the host.
Here's the prompt:

How old were you when you got your first (paying) job? Did you work during the school year? What stipulations, if any, did your parents put on spending, saving, etc.? What types of jobs did you have before you were, oh, 21 or 22? Did you go to college or a technical/trade school? If so, did you work while you were pursuing your post-high school education? What were your favorite -- and least favorite, if you wish to share! -- jobs? What did you learn from those early jobs?

I had a couple of babysitting jobs, but  I don't remember if that was before or during my summer jobs at the pool as a basket attendant.  (See #2:  That's the pool I worked at.)  My parents didn't allow us to work during the year:  going to school and getting good grades were our jobs.  Anyway, I worked at the pool the summers between my sophomore/junior year and junior/senior year.  Before my junior year, I worked to buy my first pair of contacts.  (They were so much more expensive back then than they are now!) You know the ones:  They felt like you were putting a little piece of glass in your eye!   I kept that same pair for years.

After I went to college, I didn't have a job until my senior year:  I was an R.A. for the dorm that year.  That was pretty much my employment history until I got married.  The pool job was fun:  I got to hang out with friends and it wasn't too taxing on my energy!  Plus, I got into the pool for free.  Being an R.A. was pretty cool, too.  Didn't have to do a whole lot, just be on duty in case something happened, make sure the doors were locked at a certain time, and make sure  no one was sneaking their boyfriends in their rooms after visiting hours.   I really didn't care for the babysitting stuff, to be perfectly honest!  What did I learn from any of those jobs?  I guess it would be to be responsible, show up on time, and do what you say you're going to do.

Head over to Mocha with Linda and link up!

Oh, and, while I'm at it, might as well link up to Friday Follow!


Head over to Lynn's at Midday Escapades if you just want to link your post up and visit some new people!

Time for Flashback Friday

 

In addition to "Flashback Friday", I'm also linking up to "Friday Follow" this week.
Time for another "Flashback Friday" hosted by Mylestones.  This week, I chose to write about family vacations.  Growing up in a family with 10 kids, the only vacations we took were to Texas, where both of my parents are from, and we only went every other year.  Both parents are from a family of 8 kids.  Mom would make fried chicken the day before we left, and would have a big box of food to take.  This was before the days of fast food, so when we stopped, it was at rest areas for picnic breakfast/lunches/suppers.  We would drive about half-way the first day; the big treat was staying at a Holiday Inn and swimming when we got to the hotel.  We had games that we played during the trip, but we were only allowed to play them the 2nd day.  I never understood that, but looking back, I know it was so that we wouldn't get bored the 2nd day.   Especially since we didn't have a radio in the station wagon...or air conditioning.  The alphabet game was a must (the first person to find each letter A-Z won...you could only get one letter off of one sign), as was the license plate game. (And my sisters-in-law wonder why we're so competitive!)
I guess there was really only 1 time we had all 10 of us in the car at the same time since there is a 14 year difference between the oldest and the youngest, but  it seems like it happened every other year!  We would have Daddy driving with 2 of the oldest kids in the front, mama would be in the middle of the back seat with a kid on either side (so she could reach everybody and keep us from fighting), and 6 in the "back-back".  Mama would make a palette in the very back so we would be somewhat comfortable.  She had a big jug/thermos of water.  If we had to go to the bathroom and it wasn't time to stop, she had a plastic potty from a potty chair ready for us.  It was also ready if someone got carsick.  We did have some amusement with the cars that passed us trying to count how many people were in the car.  I think at one point someone made a sign that said "10 kids, 2 adults" so people would stop staring at us.
Once we got to my mom's hometown, the fun began.  Out of 8 children on mom's side, 3 were priests and 1 was a nun, but there were still 27 grandkids.   We always stayed at my Aunt C's.   Her house was next to my mom's Aunt F's  house, which was next to Grandma's house.  Grandma lived with Aunt C ever since I can remember; I only remember seeing Grandma walking 1 time, and even then she had to hold onto the counters.  With the 3 houses together, that gave us a huge (or so it seemed!) place to play.  We would have softball games (I remember the fire ants), camping in the yard, and plays.  Oh, we could do some plays!  Here is a picture of one of my older brothers with some cousins in my aunt's backyard:

We also had some awesome food!  We had kids sleeping everywhere; at Aunt C's house, Aunt F's house, and maybe even Grandma's house (although I'm not real sure about that).  I loved the way my aunt's house smelled...it smelled like some kind of bread, coffee, and a hint of dill.  Apparently my aunt put pickles away either while we were there or before we got there.  If you've never read the children's book "The Relatives Came" by Cynthia Rylant, check it out.  Then you'll have a pretty good idea of our trips to Texas.  I'm sure Aunt C was so very glad when we left!  My Aunt C was such a saint...but that will have to be another post.
Mom's hometown was just one stop on our South Tx. Tour.  We spent time with my dad's side of the family, but it wasn't an all-out family reunion, that I remember anyway.  I do have memories of attending this huge reunion on my dad's side...it is the biggest family reunion in Tx.  As I got older, there were trips to the Alamo, the Space Needle, the River Walk (although I'm not real sure that's what it was called back then), slip & slide at my Aunt A's house,  and  the Gulf:

 (Obviously this was before my dad had a zoom option on his camera!)

One of my mom's brothers used to take the older kids on a canoe trip on the Rio Grande.  Unfortunately, I was never old enough to go, and when I was old enough to go, my uncle had stopped taking anybody.  Here's a picture of one of my brothers and a cousin crossing the river to Mexico:

I was always so jealous of the ones who got to go:  they always came back with such cool stories:  who lost their glasses, who lost shoes, etc.  Good times, for sure.
The last time I was down in Texas was 2000 for a reunion on my Mom's side.  It was a quick trip, just for the weekend, but man the memories came back.  All 3 houses are now occupied by other people who have no idea of the love and good times that were shared in those houses.  As we drove by the back of the houses, I couldn't believe how small the yards were.  In my mind, they were these huge fields, but in reality, they weren't very big at all.
So, there you have past family vacations when I was growing up.  I have no idea how my parents kept their sanity through it all:  the whining, the fighting, the heat.  It was always sad when we had to leave; I used to beg my mom to move down there.  But, oh, the memories!
I'm looking forward to hearing other blogger's past family vacations!