Today we will take the kids to see Cars 2 and just kinda relax in preparation for tomorrow. Holiday World.
Over the weekend while I was catering to the boys and what they wanted, I was reminded of my childhood. By no means was it unhappy, but it wasn't exactly glorious either. My parents were very strict and very set in their ways. There was a lot of things I was not allowed to do that most of my friends did. I thought of a few things over the weekend that I shared with the boys in hopes they'd appreciate what I try to do for them a little more. I guess they think all children have it as good as they do. I wish that was true.
It never fails when we go to Glasgow the kids want to eat at McDonald's, as I'm sure ever child in America does. Some days we eat there twice. They love it. They eat good there. It suits me perfectly fine. Maybe because I had NEVER ate at McDonald's until Iwas 16 years old and bought my first #3. I was hooked. My parents never took there. They hated it, therefore I was expected to hate it as well. When we went to town it was always the Colonial House. To this day a buffet makes me puke in my mouth! And I should add, we very rarely at out! Usually only for some type of reunion or family get together. My mother and grandmother always raised a huge garden. She had no help other than what came from me or volunteers. Daddy worked a public job and farmed. For many years he milked then eventually sold the Holsteins for Santa Gertrudis. All summer we ate from the garden and all winter we ate from the garden. Mom was a canning fool. And I mean no disrespect. I don't know how to describe how much canning and freezing these women did. They done all the gathering in the mornings and canned and froze till way in the night all summer long. I got so sick of butter beans, corn and tomatoes that when I moved out I swore I'd never eat them again. That attitude lasted maybe two weeks before I went home to raid the basement and left with a trunk load of goodies. I done my fair share of working in the garden while I was little. I broke butter beans here and there and shucked corn a lot. In 2008 my mother was under the weather come time to gather in the garden. I learned quickly I didn't pay close enough attention to the canning and freezing process. It was rough, but me and my sister in law and lots of help from neighbors kept it was going to waste. Mom would have had a fit had she gotten home and realized her garden ruined. They depended on that food to feed them all winter, still. Wow, that was a rough Summer. I wanted so badly for her to come home and be proud that I had handled her precious garden. She was so proud that the Summer of 2009, a week before the garden was due to come in, she had no worries when she fell down the basement steps and broke her pelvis. She knew she had a daughter and daughter in law that knew exactly what to do with it all. My boys would die if I handed them a bucket of corn and told them the shuck it. I guess they'd throw it because "shuck" sounds like alternate word for "pitch it".
Today we will be going to the movies. Again, something I didn't do when I was a kid. I saw my first theater movie when I was 15. Batman Forever. Mom and Dad didn't care for new movies. They were vulgar. At home I was allowed a few shows. Little House on the Prairie, Murder She Wrote, Andy Griffith, Matlock, The Waldens, the weather, and possibly a couple more that will come to me later. We watched these on a 13 inch black and white tv equipped with rabbit ears. We had a antenna outside that we turned with a huge wrench. It took two people for this process. One to do the turning and one to stand at the door and relay to the turner wether the picture was getting better or worse. The first color television that was in our house was one bought by my brother, David. It was huge. A floor model Zenith. The Waldens never looked so good to me! I think around the time I reached my teenage years Dad bought a new antenna. This one had some sort of contraption on it that allowed us to turn in from inside the house. I never had satellite or cable. If I watched movies it was at friends houses. When I was 14 I got a VHS player for Christmas. I used that thing for 15 years. They sure don't make DVD players like that anymore. For the record. Each of my children have their own flat screen tv and cable. We have two cable boxes in this house. Two cable boxes means four different programs can be playing at any given time here. On occasion you might catch me watching some Andy and reciting the dialog word for word.
I don't recall ever being at the lake as a child, but I spent many hours at the ponds with a fishing pole. My boys do too. I guess that's something we have in common. I even recall swimming in a few ponds. My boys would NEVER do that!! I can't say that I would these days either tho. It's spoiled us to have a pool in the back yard. I always wanted a pool as a kid. I never had one. I remember even sitting in a cattle waterier and concrete minnow tank. What would my boys say if I drained the pool and told them to go swim in the waterier. I guess it never made no sense for us to have a pool. I wasn't allowed to wear a bathing suit. Too revealing. I do remember getting a Wet Banana one year for a birthday gift. I played on it till I made Moms yard muddy and she put it up and it was never allowed back out again. They had well water and city water. I had to use the well water for that sorta thing so I didn't run up the water bill. The water was muddy out of the tap. We took baths in well water too. Before running my bath water I would have to let the water run for a few minutes. It seemed to be less muddy if you let it run a while first. It's nothing for my water bill to be 60 dollars a month all Summer. Peyton would die if he had to bath in brown water before school.
And church. I was there every time the doors were opened. During the Summer we attended revivals all Summer. I didn't play sports cause it caused a conflict with attending church. I went to 4H camp one year, but only because my mother was a 4H leader and went as well.
I had very few friends because they approved of no one. I was allowed to have friends over but never allowed at their homes. I'm assuming because I might witness someone drinking or using vulgar language. Vulgar was a word used very often. Anything and everything was considered vulgar. I never heard my Mom or Dad cuss my whole entire life. I am 31 and still have never heard my parents utter any shape form or fashion of profanity. I was not even allowed to say words that sounded like a cuss word. Heck sounded like hell. That was a no no. Shoot sounded like shit. That got me spanked a few times. Darn it was just as bad as dammit. I lost Little House on the Prairie privileges for two week once for that word. Yesterday while driving to the lake Danny met a car on the wrong side of the road. Naturally I scream the f bomb and Eli very seriously said "my boys are still back there somewhere". We all laughed hysterically. Had Mom and Dad been in the car it would have gotten us both popped in the mouth and a quick ticket back home to a switch, no tv, no visitors. I guess had I uttered something like that, I would have had to work in the garden all Summer with absolutely no opportunity to swim in the minnow tank!!
My boys have Xboxes, Wii's, ect. I had a Nintendo. I worked and bought it myself. I had only the games that it came with. I shot ducks till the gun stopped working. It was never replaced and I never had another gaming system.
We took a few trips when I was little. I never picked the destinations like my boys get too. I figure there will be time for seeing things I want to see when they are grown and have families of their own. And honestly, I can't think of any place I'd rather go Monday then to Holiday World with my favorite men.
I hope each and ever one of you have a wonderful week. May you raise your children the way YOU see fit. Give them what YOU want too. Don't let anyone tell you what YOUR children can or can't live without. Some may call my boys spoiled and that suits me just fine. They are happy boys. They are smart well rounded young men. They work hard and are rewarded well. Things aren't always giggles when we become adults. I intend to set the mood for many many giggle while I have them under my roof. I hope one day to read something they have written that starts out something like this: There was this one time, when I was a kid that.....................
we went fishen with Mom.
rode jet skis with Daddy.
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