Once upon a time there were five little girls, all the same age, growing up on North River Road. In the 1950's there weren't too many concerns for the little girls. We all wondered about an angry man in faraway Russia, who would shake his fist and tell us that he would bury us, but we all had plenty to eat and nice dresses to wear to school. Our fathers all had jobs and we'd never heard of "downsizing" or lay offs. Most of our mothers were homemakers. We all met in the second grade at River Road School.
Life was good. Summers were hot but tollerable. We had no air conditioning in the 1950's. We swam in the Black River behind my home. Winters were very cold with lots of snow. We made snow forts and snowmen and had lots of fun together.
I am the oldest, and I turned 59 this past March. Next in line is Kathy, who birthday is in June. Then comes Marianne and Linda, both born in July, then Susan, born in August.
The cure for polio was not yet found, so in the summer, we all had to be quiet during the heat of the day. My mother would read to us from "Pollyanna" or "The Secret Garden". Kathy's mother taught us easy sewing stitches and embroidery, and took me to Church. Sometimes we would play baseball in Marianne's yard or spend the day at Susan's house, 1/2 mile down the road. She liked the new Barbie dolls. Crafts were not popular then, not even in VBS.
Well, in 6th grade, my family moved to Florida for Dad's health. In 7th grade, Kathy moved to Detroit area for her father's work. I lost touch with Marianne for over 25 years, but we found each other again awhile back. Kathy and I have remained close. Sadly, Linda died in a car accident when we were 24. Susan died of a brain tumor in 1998, right before my husband died of cancer. Kathy, Marianne and I keep in touch by email now. Marianne and I are retired, Kathy works in her husband's business office.
Kathy does beautiful needlepoint, Marianne and I both make quilts. My friend, Tammy (in NC), taught me to spin a few years ago and it has taken over my life and home. My dust bunnies are wool and mysteriously migrate around my vinyl living room floor like tumbleweeds. Spinning has given me some degree of peace since my husband died.
Come to think of it, life is still pretty good.
2 comments:
Ok when I first started reading your post, I thought of *and they all went to the police academy*! I watched a lot of Charlie's Angels back in the day.
I'm sorry to hear abt the death of two of your friends. I've had a lot of family die, including my mother; and I've had a friend who's son died in a car accident, but I've never had a peer die yet.
but I agree, our crafts definitely soothe the soul.
A bittersweet story,and our spinning, knitting, quilting, etc. ...good therapy for our souls.
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