Saturday, November 20, 2010

Two Sisters and Two Bottles of Wine

The other night my sister called and asked me what I had planned for the weekend. I hadn't seen her in over a year and if she was calling because she wanted to visit, it didn't matter to me what I'd planned, because nothing was more important than seeing her. Sure enough, she said she could manage a couple of days away from her hubby and young daughter, so she made the 3.5 hour drive and arrived at my door around 8:00 p.m. It was not long after that we had a glass or two of wine and remembered that we'd been threatening for a while to write a post together. We decided then that this might be a great time for me to re-open my blog after a 4-month hiatus.

Once we cracked open the wine and started refilling each other's glass, it wasn't long before the stories of our upbringing surfaced. As we strolled down memory lane, we couldn't help but compare the childhoods of our children to what we had considered normal 40 years ago. So much has changed in such a short time. We remember the simple games and toys we had compared to the computurized and electronic gadgets and must-have toys of today.

We laughed hysterically about the day our Mum had noticed that Deb had been in her room and very quiet for a while. Mum called out "what are you doing Debbie?" to which a little voice answered, "oh, just sweeping up my bangs!" We didn't have a lot of store bought toys, so we made our own fun. Deb's experiment with cutting her own hair or sometimes wearing a clothes basket on her head that was adorned with clothespins, was actually a precurser of the days to come when she would grow up to be quite the fashion plate in the New Wave and punk movement of the 80's.

I spent hours learning to walk on homemade stilts that our father had fashioned from a couple of 2x4s. We played in the fields near our home all day long with only our imaginations, our faithful dog and a couple of dolls. No one worried if we were gone all day because they knew we'd come home at suppertime, tired, a little dirty and browned by the sun. But this lack of supervision had a down side, like the time we redecorated the wallpaper in the spare bedroom of the rental we were living in with our brand new set of "Paint Wheels"!

At one point we had to give up our bedroom to our visiting grandmother, so Dad moved our bunkbeds out into the landing on the second floor. We would lie awake for hours watching out the window at the big semi-tractor trailers going by lit up like Christmas Trees, making up stories about what they were hauling and where they had been; and don't forget that vent in the floor that allowed the heat to rise up into our room. We'd lie on the floor peering down into the room below and wait for our parents and their friends to order pizza. Then we'd make our way downstairs for a drink of water or some other trumped up reason, to beg for a piece. Eating out was a rare treat and we relished every bite as we polished off that little wedge of pizza between us.

Deb & I talked late into the night about the things we'd done and we realized that we could probably write for hours about the family members who had put the 'fun' into disfunctional (which would fill another post!). In the end, we couldn't decide if we were really disadvantaged by our childhoods, or if maybe our own children in this world of cell phones, computers and video games are the ones missing out.

What do you think?

15 comments:

  1. The world of elecronics, ready made toys, and instant gratification does not help develop the creative mind of today's kids. When I was a lad, if I didn't have any toy soldiers to play army, I made it out of small pieces of cereal box sliced by a scissors to make legs and set up the battle. Swords were made of kindling or old fence pickets and there was always a game of chase, tag, hide-'n-seek, street ball to occupy the most disillusioned mind. The old days were creative days and good days, but to be honest, not all the days were good. There were hungry days, cold days and sick days without the benefit of modern medicine. I like today, fondly remember the old days and wish betimes there were reminiscences like yours and Debs to bring back fond memories of sibling fun. But like you say, when we were young everybody looked after the kids and we were allowed to play without fear and were always home for supper.

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  2. You're so right Mr. S. It's hard to believe that now it's me who's saying "I remember when.." I guess every generation remembers its childhood with fondness and thinks the current generations don't know how good they have it.

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  3. and still you two are playing together!!!:) I loved this post. Thanks to Meno for pointing me here.

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  4. What a great way to spend an evening! Our daughters played outside way more than they did anything inside...easy because the weather is good for outside here most of the year and the beach is about 5-10 minutes away from our house. So, not that much time with electronics and technology here--

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  5. Oh, sorry...forgot to tell you that I'm a new follower! LOL

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  6. Hi Kyooty, thanks for dropping by. We had a great time and are planning to do it again soon.

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  7. Thanks for the comments and the follow EmptyNester. It WAS a great way to spend the evening, we had a ball :)

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  8. Nice to meet you. Enjoyed the walk down memory lane.

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  9. Nice to meet you too, SS, my sister speaks highly of you and I really enjoyed your post about your daughter's move - been there, done that, lol. I'm happy to be your newest follower.

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  10. That's great that you and Deb were able to hang out and reminisce. I miss the simple times of growing up. Deb was a punk rocker? Are you serious????

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  11. Hi Chocolate CD, thanks so much for dropping by and the follow. Deb was indeed a punk rocker, complete with safety pins and some great pogo moves! Maybe that's another post...

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  12. I am a new follower too and just remembering the "good old days" with my sister. She doesnt live as far but we hardly get to see each other due to life getting into the way. But its true...todays kids are too hung up on electronics....I constantly get my grandkids off the couch to play ball in the yard....so many of the games I played outside are now on the computer....but I try to teach them things like "Hit the penny" and "Hopscotch" .. where have all the fun games gone?

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  13. Hi There, just wanted to say "Thanks for the fun weekend" and to let you know I made the 3 1/2 hour trip home safely.

    On the way home I was thinking about how proud I am of us. I think we can safely say we are the first generation of siblings in this family who can get together and drink for hours without getting into a fist fight. No bloody noses, no black eyes, no broken teeth and no ripped up clothing.

    We can leave it up to the next generation to break the family tradition of drunk dialing Lol!

    Love Ya!
    Deb

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  14. Hi BeaderBubbe, glad you stopped in and thanks so much for the follow. After this great weekend with my Sis, I really want to encourage you to set aside some time soon for your sister too. The special thing about sisters is that we love each other just as we are, warts and all!

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  15. Hey Deb, thanks for letting me know you got home ok, and please don't stay away so long next time. Luv you too!

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