My earliest memory is of kindergarten in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It seems like it was a long, low building, and I remember a lot of kids there. We hae nap time and art time. Seems like we were always gluing something, and it made my fingers sticky. There wasn't much else about that time that I remember, though, except that my mom was an important part of my life. Actually, my mom AND my dad were important, but dad was gone to work a lot. My world seemed to be my family at that time...I was probably 5 years old.
Our pink stucco duplex in Calgary has stayed in my memory too. I had the mumps that year, and I remember staying home and being around my little brother. I guess I didn't feel too bad. He must not have been very old, because he was born in Calgary.
One time, he choked on an apple peeling, and mom and dad rushed him to the hospital. I think he coughed it up before they got there. It was a scary time for all of us.
We had a spaniel dog then and his name was Bud. He was our family pet, and we all loved him. I was very sad when mom and dad said we had to put him to sleep. I don't know that I was fully aware of what that meant, just that he would be gone after that. We played with him a lot and he was around all the time.
I have good Christmas memories from that house. Dad would bring home a crate full of tangerines and we'd peel them easily and eat them. The smell of tangerines still reminds me of Christmas. A nice family memory that is not easily forgotten.
Mom and Dad made a good life for us.I have very good memories of them and all of us as a family. I have two brothers, one older and one younger. Of course, my world was all wrapped up in my own self, but the other people in my family were all there. Jim..my older brother, was in my peripheral vision as a pesky older brother, someone who I just had to tolerate. He was just beginning to tease me...a foreshadowing of what was to come...Chuck, my younger brother, was a baby at that time, but I loved him. He was a cutie...white blonde hair, blue eyes, and a ready smile for everyone.
I think it was at this time that Mom started to make mother and daughter dresses for us that matched. I think I thought at the time that it was pretty nice and I enjoyed it a lot. I have seen some pictures of us both in matching dresses. It must have been fun for her to have a daughter that she could do that with. I did the same with my daughter a time or two. It's a very special feeling. My mom made me feel very special by doing that which, I'm sure, was her intention at the time. She was not a hands-on kind of mom, but this was something I really appreciated and loved. She gave me lots of hugs, but was still very hand-off.
Other memories..the stampede in Calgary....learning "Itsy-bitsy spider" from dad.....eating long johns that dad brought home....the deacon's bench that dad had made in his workshop....mom sitting at her sewing machine.....big first grade class and one of the girls throwing up colorful crayons that she'd been eating. (not such a good memory, but it stuck with me.)
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