My grandma's thoughts

Here's a little something my grandma gave me not too long ago, and I'm sure it'll be useful.

"My brother, parents and I lived with my Grandmother (after my Grandfather passed away) from the time was I was about 3 years old until I was 16. We lived in a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom house (which is considered very small by today's standards). We did move to another home when I was 12 years old. This home was huge in comparison! It was 2 stories, with all the bedrooms (3) upstairs, plus a full basement. My parents made the dining room into a bedroom for my Grandma since she was unable to get upstairs. My mother didn't work outside the home as she took care of my Grandma who had suffered a stroke and was unable to care for herself. My father worked as a molder in an iron manufacturing company.

We were a very close knit family; always had visits from aunts and uncles every Sunday. My mother would have home-made cookies, breads, or cakes to go with the coffee she would serve our company. We had dinner around 5:00 pm every day, not long after my dad would get home from work. We didn't have fast-food restaurants in those days, so eating out was a rare occasion.

We were among the first in our neighborhood to get a television. I was in the 3rd grade, and I remember neighborhood children sitting on our fronch porch watching tv through the screen door. We didn't have computers, cell phones, or other electronic "gadgets" by which to be entertained. There was one telephone in the house and you had to talk to a telephone operator and she connected you to the person you were calling.

We didn't spend alot of time watching tv, but I do remember liking to watch "I Love Lucy" and the "Mickey Mouse Club." On Saturday mornings, I would watch cartoons, "Sky King" and a couple of other shows whose names escape me. We spent most of our time outside riding bicycles, roller skating (in the summer) or ice skating (in the winter). There was an ample supply of friends in the neighborhood and we would use our imagination to make up games; sometimes we would stage a play, don't ever remember a time when "there was nothing to do!" We knew to go home when the street lights came on.

Those were days when we didn't have to worry about "stranger danger," we felt safe leaving our doors unlocked if we went away. We had respect for authority - didn't ever dare to talk back to a teacher or parents!

Life was simpler then; we didn't have alot of choices for many things, I am so fortunate to have been able to grow up during that time."