I thought I'd write about a typical day during the week at our house. It's funny, but the list of our daily activities, from the time we started school through high school graduation, contains very little change year after year, house after house. We all did almost exactly the same thing each day. Obviously there were seasonable adjustments, but our lives had a rhythm that was generally predictable.
Dad was ALWAYS the first one to wake up. You could define the phrase "early bird" by watching my Dad. He was always showered, shaved and dressed no later than 7:00 a.m. even on Saturdays. When Dad was home (on weekends), he'd let us sleep to a reasonable time, then he'd start calling "Up-and-at-em," standing at each bedroom door. He never really had any trouble getting us to wake up (at least until we hit high-school age). But even when Dad was home during the week, he'd usually be off to work before we woke up.
We were responsible for getting ourselves dressed and ready for school - including getting our own breakfast. Mom was always awake, but she usually stayed in bed because she spent a lot of nights being pregnant, recovering from delivery or was up during the night feeding babies or nursing sick kids. Mom's role in our mornings was mostly as referee because that's when we tended to squabble the most.
A recurring morning fight was over "who gets the glug-glug." To explain, we thought there was something special about how a new glass bottle of milk would say "glug-glug" on the first pour into our cereal or glass. And we would really fight to get it! I have no idea how it started, but I guess other families had the same problem because milk doesn't "glug-glug" anymore.
We each had an imitation leather (plastic) book bag that looked like a little briefcase. It was up to us to make sure our books & supplies, including homework, was packed up and ready to go. We also needed to assemble and take our lunch every day. And if we were going to Mass during school (every first Friday, holiday, holy day and during Advent and Lent) it was mandatory to remember our uniform beanie.
I don't think there ever a year that all of us school-aged kids went to the same school. The majority of the time we were in Catholic school, but there was no kindergarden, and once Barbie reached high school, that was also a different school. We were mostly scattered among three schools. So it was a nightmare for Mom if anyone missed their bus in the morning.
By 8:30, all the school-aged kids had climbed on their buses and were off to school. We'd arrive at school just early enough to feel the chilly mornings before the bell would ring and we'd line up with our class.
When the school day was complete (between 2:15 and 3:00 depending on what grade), we'd board the bus for the return trip home. We took our time walking home from the bus-stop because it was likely our last "outside time" for the day.
Mom was usually folding clothes and diapers or ironing when we got home. We were always told to change into play-clothes (we each had five white shirts for everyday, but our plaid uniform skirts or jumpers and navy blue pants for the boys needed to stay clean all week). We'd proceed to our rooms with our book bags, and sometimes we'd actually change.
We were usually hungary and needed a snack. Mom was not big on snacking, but we were allowed to have a piece of fruit or some crackers to hold us until dinnertime. In later years, we started eating cereal after school.
Next we were supposed to do our homework before we played or watched TV, and again, sometimes we did. But mostly there was other stuff we'd pursue, either alone or with a sibling. The one thing we didn't do after school was go outside and play with other kids in the neighborhood. I'm not sure why - my guess is that since Dad traveled so much, Mom felt better having all her little chicks in the nest.
At about 6:30, Mom would start dinner. There was always at least two jobs that were assigned to unlucky kids before dinner - making a salad and setting the table. And sometimes peeling and mashing potatoes. No matter what job you got, it seemed like you just did it the night before. But sometimes it was better to just do it - or dare I say, volunteer? Because that gave you immunity from doing the dishes after dinner.
Mom made the most delicious casseroles. Or we'd have meatloaf, fish sticks or sometimes for a treat, sloppy Joes. We had salad with every dinner. We always sat together at the table. And clean plates were required before we each drank a glass of milk and dinner was over.
After dinner, we went to our rooms to finish (or start?) homework or read until bedtime at 8:00. Except on Thursday night, when we'd watch The Donna Reed Show, followed by My Three Sons. (Thursday was always a good TV night. Over the years, shows like The Beverly Hillbillies, Gilligan's Island and The Flying Nun were aired on Thursday).
And then we went to bed. As we got older, bedtimes got later, but everything else hardly changed. Looking back now, it sounds incredibly dull, but I don't ever remember being bored. I guess I spent a lot of time plotting how to get the glug-glug the next morning.
What was the one thing you did, without fail, every day? Were there any recurring squabbles with your siblings that were routine? Leave a comment and let me know!
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Creative Pastimes
My parents knew a suitable craft project could keep a child quiet and engaged for hours. When there are nine children in the house, this is definitely preferable (at least for them) to squabbling with our siblings or making a mess.
I don't remember Mom or Dad ever "teaching" us how to make things or be creative, except through example. But we were lucky to have older siblings, friends, scouts and enough natural resourcefulness to guide us through each burst of creativity. (And of course, when all else fails, read the directions).
As soon as Barbie and Cherie understood "over and under," Dad constructed simple frames from scraps of wood. Then small nails were added, spaced evenly around the perfect square. Using this simple tool, many potholders were made, using brightly colored fabric loops that were purchased at a local toy or five-and-dime store. Unfortunately, it was almost impossible to get the loops tight enough to use these creations as actual potholders, but we were very proud of our handiwork all the same. In later years, when the nails at each mitered corner loosened, the looms were replaced by plastic ones that were packaged with the loops in kits.
The first project completed every year in Girl Scouts was making a "sit-upon". This little mat was your chair for meetings and outings all year. Since a sit-upon needed to keep your fanny warm and dry when sitting outside, it was made using several layers of newspaper sandwiched between two pieces of Naugahyde (fake leather, like pleather today). Once assembled, it was kept together by stitching around all four sides, not an easy task because pushing a needle through Naugahyde wasn't easy. You could always tell which side was the last to be stitched - there was usually a repair made from tape by the end of the year. I never understood why we didn't just use tape to begin with, but I guess it was to teach us a basic joining stitch.
I remember the frustration of trying to get fabric smooth and tight on an embroidery hoop (or is it hoops), although I don't remember a single stitch.
We became masters of making crochet ropes using old thread spools, again with small nails, pounded around the hole in the top.
And for awhile, there were "No Wire Hangers, Ever" at our house when it was discovered how easy it was to cover an ugly hanger with pretty yarn.
There were summers we spent weaving and threading long plastic strips into braided lanyards. We also learned Never to throw out gum wrappers. They could be folded and inter-attached. By the time we lost interest in this craft, I had a rope at least 30 feet long and a very sore jaw from chewing all that gum!
Not that the girls had all the fun - there were many Saturday afternoons when newspapers covered the kitchen table and model airplanes, ships and cars were painted and assembled. I also remember the day Tommy carefully put a line of airplane glue on the side of his finger to spread on his model piece, only to reach up and unthinkingly rub his eye, effectively gluing his eye shut!
When one of the boys got a rock tumbler (Rick?), I thought it was surely going to be a disappointment. They gathered and washed rocks and then set them into the tumbler with the smoother ingredient, included in the kit. And then, it was wait, wait, wait and wait, Like for days! Maybe weeks. But when the tumbler was finally stopped, the ugly rocks from outside were transformed into beautiful stones! Boy, was I surprised.
One year Dad made a huge dollhouse for Barbie & Cherie's Barbie dolls. We all set to the task making furniture out of anything we could repurpose. We used egg cartons (cut apart with fabric scraps glued on make cute chairs), made Popsicle stick beds and tables, and even used the boxes from Dad's Benson & Hedges cigarettes, glued as a stack, for bureau drawers.
Yes, scissors and glue were hard to find at our house since we rarely remembered to put things back. But if you ever wondered what kids did inside before video games and the internet, now you know.
I don't remember Mom or Dad ever "teaching" us how to make things or be creative, except through example. But we were lucky to have older siblings, friends, scouts and enough natural resourcefulness to guide us through each burst of creativity. (And of course, when all else fails, read the directions).
As soon as Barbie and Cherie understood "over and under," Dad constructed simple frames from scraps of wood. Then small nails were added, spaced evenly around the perfect square. Using this simple tool, many potholders were made, using brightly colored fabric loops that were purchased at a local toy or five-and-dime store. Unfortunately, it was almost impossible to get the loops tight enough to use these creations as actual potholders, but we were very proud of our handiwork all the same. In later years, when the nails at each mitered corner loosened, the looms were replaced by plastic ones that were packaged with the loops in kits.
The first project completed every year in Girl Scouts was making a "sit-upon". This little mat was your chair for meetings and outings all year. Since a sit-upon needed to keep your fanny warm and dry when sitting outside, it was made using several layers of newspaper sandwiched between two pieces of Naugahyde (fake leather, like pleather today). Once assembled, it was kept together by stitching around all four sides, not an easy task because pushing a needle through Naugahyde wasn't easy. You could always tell which side was the last to be stitched - there was usually a repair made from tape by the end of the year. I never understood why we didn't just use tape to begin with, but I guess it was to teach us a basic joining stitch.
I remember the frustration of trying to get fabric smooth and tight on an embroidery hoop (or is it hoops), although I don't remember a single stitch.
We became masters of making crochet ropes using old thread spools, again with small nails, pounded around the hole in the top.
And for awhile, there were "No Wire Hangers, Ever" at our house when it was discovered how easy it was to cover an ugly hanger with pretty yarn.
There were summers we spent weaving and threading long plastic strips into braided lanyards. We also learned Never to throw out gum wrappers. They could be folded and inter-attached. By the time we lost interest in this craft, I had a rope at least 30 feet long and a very sore jaw from chewing all that gum!
Not that the girls had all the fun - there were many Saturday afternoons when newspapers covered the kitchen table and model airplanes, ships and cars were painted and assembled. I also remember the day Tommy carefully put a line of airplane glue on the side of his finger to spread on his model piece, only to reach up and unthinkingly rub his eye, effectively gluing his eye shut!
When one of the boys got a rock tumbler (Rick?), I thought it was surely going to be a disappointment. They gathered and washed rocks and then set them into the tumbler with the smoother ingredient, included in the kit. And then, it was wait, wait, wait and wait, Like for days! Maybe weeks. But when the tumbler was finally stopped, the ugly rocks from outside were transformed into beautiful stones! Boy, was I surprised.
One year Dad made a huge dollhouse for Barbie & Cherie's Barbie dolls. We all set to the task making furniture out of anything we could repurpose. We used egg cartons (cut apart with fabric scraps glued on make cute chairs), made Popsicle stick beds and tables, and even used the boxes from Dad's Benson & Hedges cigarettes, glued as a stack, for bureau drawers.
Yes, scissors and glue were hard to find at our house since we rarely remembered to put things back. But if you ever wondered what kids did inside before video games and the internet, now you know.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)