I have such wonderful memories of Mom when I was a child. Her gifts and talents seemed unending to me. Our house was the center of social activities. My brother and sister were 8 and 6 years older than me, so teen friends were always hanging out, playing games or eating with us. Also, Jim and Paula's dates were often invited to backyard family BBQs or dinners.
I remember my fifth birthday party; I think it was the only party I had as a child. Mom organized games for us to play in our backyard. We dropped a clothespin in a milk bottle with our hands behind our backs. We put the clothespin in our mouths and tried to drop it into a milk bottle that was between our feet. We tried to whistle with crackers in our mouth, and we played pin the tail on the donkey.
Many weekends our home was filled with teens playing card games like Hearts or board games like Monopoly. All that riotous fun was followed by a soup or spaghetti dinner. Always, the highlight of special meals was a homemade dessert. Mom was an amazing cook, but her desserts were outstanding.
Mom always challenged herself to improve her skills. She made chocolate eclairs, cream puffs, a variety of amazing cookies, but her specialty was pie. Her crust secret at that time was Fluffo, a yellow, lightweight textured shortening. She also tried lard and butter, but Fluffo became her favorite choice for pies. She made any flavor of pie and we loved them all. I always loved watching her make them. She would talk me through each step. Those memories are so special to me.
When we had family picnics she would get up when it was still dark to fry chicken, bake beans, and make potato salad, and a yellow cake with broiled coconut and pecan butter frosting.
It sounds like all I talk about was her cooking, but that is when I hung out with her, it was our time. I learned about family, friends, and various skills from her as she was cooking.
She sewed so beautifully, making whatever we kids needed. She made me Halloween costumes and dresses. For Paula, she made a Sadie Hawkins shirt for her date and a dress for her.
When my brother Jim ran for Student Body President, Mom made him over 200 beanies for kids to wear showing support for Jim instead of wearing candidate buttons.
Every holiday was prepared for us by Mom. For Easter, Mom would take Paula and me out to buy Easter dresses, shoes, and hats. Shopping was so much fun! Then on Easter after church (the only day we went to church), we would have an Easter egg hunt and then a family dinner. Dinner was often leg of lamb, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and lemon meringue pie. We sat in the dining room and ate off of china plates with a nice centerpiece. You may notice that it was memorable to me.
Mom was available to talk to us or support us in every activity. As the youngest, I am sure I was a pest because I wanted to be involved in whatever was going on. I remember Mom as the heart of the family. She was the family nurse, party planner, holiday organizer, and the one you went to with needs or questions.
Mom also loved movies, musicals, and holiday specials that we would watch on our family TV. Usually Paula and Jim were gone out somewhere, but I would be on the floor to watch whatever was on TV with Mom and Dad.
My early childhood memories of Mom are wonderful. I loved how talented she was, and hospitable. I thought she made everything wonderful.
Related people
Mom, Paula, Jim