My sister Karri was the coolest. She was the only one in my family that seemed like she really liked me. That may sound bad, but it's true. She would talk to me, take me out with her, and play with me. Even as we got older we seemed to stay close. We didn't argue nearly as much as I did with my other siblings. Even now as I'm older I talk to her much more.
When I was 3 years old my mother allowed me to go to the mall with Karri and a few of her friends. Teenagers! They had their agenda and I had mine. "I want to go to Child world!" I begged over and over again. Child World was our mall's only toy store at the time. You've got to love the old North Dartmouth Mall, back in the day when the carpet was old, green, and dingy. I don't know if the coolest part was the toy store or the fact that it had not 1 but 2 ice cream restaurants to choose from. Which one should we choose? Newport Creamery or Friendly's? They are both absolutely divine! Ice-cream with the best fudge around and good old fashioned milk shakes. The awful awful was really hard to beat. The mall had no food court like they all have these days and it was pretty small. It did have an awesome pizza place the pizza slices were bigger than me.
From the second we arrived and before we even got out of the car I began my begging, "Let's go to Child World, I want to go to Child world!" Karen was in agreement, but in their own time, "OK, in a little while." That might as well be a year to a 3 year old. I can remember asking again and again while wandering around. "Where is Child world? I know it's here somewhere." Ah finally, I had found Child World and was playing with the toys. I had always enjoyed looking at all the toys in amazement and sampling a few here and there. What an amazing magical place. The new dolls, strollers, the new 2XL talking robot - boy was he the coolest along with all his 8 track cartridges. I can still hear him tell me to "Please push the question button now." I was checking out what else is new and exciting that I haven't seen before. Thinking, "I wonder if I'm really good if my Mommy will buy this for me." I was playing for a while when I found some cool yellow toy birds. They were on an end cap in a bin low to the ground that I could easily reach. They were ones you could wind up and they walked or made noise. They had a white almost straight but almost "S" shaped twist crank to turn to make them go. My little hands couldn't twist it. I wanted some help. "I need a big person to help me with this," I thought. As I put the toy down I looked around. I was thinking, "Where is Karri? It's been a while since I've seen her." I realized then that I was all alone. I was lost! I learned later it that hours had passed, but it didn't seem long to me at all. My sister and her friends had already scoped out the entire mall. They had been calling my name on over head speakers throughout the mall constantly, frantically checking every store. My sister and her friends had already returned home. They were beginning to lose hope that they'd ever find me. The Lord was looking out for me. The instant I realized I was all alone and became overcome with fear a family friend and neighbor was right behind me. She called my name and I ran to her for a hug. She brought me to her house where I had dinner with their family while waiting for my mother to arrive. I remember that vividly as they made me eat mashed potatoes. At that time I completely hated mashed potatoes! When my mom walked in the door I was so joyful, thankful, and relieved. I had expected she would be so excited to see me that she would excuse me from clearing my plate as she knew how I hated those potatoes. Not to mention that she'd be so glad to see me, that there was a change she'd even forget about the potatoes all together! No such luck. I had to eat all my mashed potatoes. Not a cheerful reunion for me. Bring me back to the mall and I'll go have some ice cream!
Mashed potatoes oh I have many memories of mashed potatoes. Strange to think how I love them now but as a kid, I loathed them. I can remember the gritty feeling I had on my tongue and how I gagged at the thought of swallowing them. I tried to chase that taste down with a quick drink of cool-aid but that didn't work. Instead it triggered a gagging reflex which resulted in a mouth full of potatoes back into my cool-aid. That didn't blow over very well. "What did you do that for? Well, you know you're going to have to drink that now." I really didn't mean it. They were just so gross! I don't think I ever drank it. I can't believe they really expected me to.
Another evening I was looming over another plate of the dreaded mashed potatoes. I was told that I had to sit at the table until my they were all gone. I was sitting, pouting, and negotiating for a while at what else I could have instead of these potatoes. Sticking my fork in them, swirling it around, and trying to take a bite. My lips curled up as I put the fork to my mouth. I dropped the fork down on the plate again, "Yuck!"
My sister Karri had kitchen clean up duty on this particular evening. I remember watching her as she talked on the corded telephone - one with a cord so long it could wind around the entire house. Ah what teenagers had to do before the invention of the cordless phones. Twirling the cord like a dance as she moved throughout the kitchen putting away the left overs and clearing the table. While being deeply involved in her conversation and so busy with her work she was still able to see my complete misery. As she was cleaning she grabbed a napkin and scooped up all the potatoes I had left on my plate and threw them in the trash. I looked at her and felt a little guilty knowing that I should have eaten them. I was completely shocked! My first thought was "Hey what did you do that for I'm supposed to eat those, now I'm going to get in trouble!" On the second thought, I thought how awesome she was and I didn't realize she cared about me so much! Nice to know your sister has your back. When Marie ever came in the room she just told me to "Stop being such a brat and just eat the stinking potatoes." Wow, Karri really loved me. Looking back now, I wonder if she was just trying to get me out of the kitchen so she could talk on the phone without a nosey little sister in the room.
Karri took me to the mall many other times after the whole losing me thing. I am glad to report that I did not get lost ever again. I enjoyed going. I had to patiently sit for a long time as she tried on outfit after outfit. Sometimes I'd sit in front of the triple mirror and appreciate the conversation and company of all the other "me's." It was great catching up with all my twins and triplets I hadn't seen for a while. We'd have some deep conversations, we had plenty of time for it. Catching up with all the latest news and gossip passed a lot of time. Karri did seem to take forever to pick out just one outfit. I thought she looked gorgeous in everything. I couldn't understand why she'd look so great and just take the clothes off all angry like they made her look fat. My friends and I didn't mind, we'd just talk, giggle, and dance to occupy the time. While she was picking out the clothes there was always the added opportunity to hid inside the racks. Just walking through the clothes to the other side. It was my own private Narnia! The places your imagination can take you when you're hiding inside a clothes rack. I know it annoys some people when kids do this but some of my most joyful times were hiding inside clothes racks. I wonder if it would be as fun to do it now as a grown up! I chuckle just thinking about it. Can you imagine picking out some jeans to find a grown woman "playing" in the clothes rack?
When I was older they opened up a water slide park near by in a town called Westport. I was so excited to go to the water park with my sister. They had light brown slides. Two of the slides they had were what they called flume's. They were the windy ones you sat up to go down. The other 2 went straight down and gave you an enema as you went down. I didn't sign up for the enema slides, but I enjoyed the flumes. You got a water proof paper that was attached to an elastic band to put around your wrist. Every time you went down the slide they'd punch a whole in your paper until you were out of slides. You were not allowed to wear any earrings. If you had any they would put tape on them, which is what I had to do because I had studs and I couldn't take them out. You walked up, up, up, umpteen dozen stairs which took forever when there was a line. When there wasn't a line you would develop a sort of asthmatic reaction by the time you reached the top. The ride lasted all of about 10 seconds. There were no mats, you would simply sit directly on the slide. The water would push you through all the twists and turns. Occasionally you'd go under a 4 foot tunnel. I can remember that each section was about 4 feet long or so because you could feel the small little bmmp, bmmmp, buummp, on your rump every 2 seconds. Oh the fun times!
Kari was also in beauty school at the local vocational school. She always cut my hair. I thought my sister was so cool. I bragged that my big sister cut my hair. It was hard for me for some reason to remember to be still. She sometimes would get mad at me while cutting my hair and yell and move my head where she wanted it. It's the only time I can remember with her getting upset with me. I wished I could be still. My mind would wander while sitting in that salon chair, my eyes would roam around the room, my head would later follow my eyes and that's where I got in trouble.
When I was around 6 or so, my oldest sister Marie was 18 and pregnant with my first niece. I remember that striking a lot of questions for me as far as where babies come from. I don't remember who answered me on the issue, but I definitely don't want them telling my kids anything about reproduction. I asked how the baby gets out of the mommy's belly. I was terrified being told that the baby starts kicking when he or she is ready to come out and just kicks and kicks her way out of the belly. "What?" I have no idea who told me that or why. I think that would have been a great opportunity to tell me an introductory of where babies come from. Crazy people!
I think she was in labor at home. I remember her crying in pain and rolling back and forth on her bed. I was scared for her. "Gosh a baby coming right out of your belly, how do you ever heal from that?!" She surely had my sympathy.
When the baby came home like any other 6 year old girl would be I was completely mesmerized. I wanted to hold her, feed her, change her, and just play with her like a new toy. To my surprise Marie didn't seem to like this idea very much. I couldn't understand why she didn't want my "help." She played a game of keep the precious baby away from the pesky little sister. Yell at sister not to wake the baby. Try not to freak out that sister is trying to hold the baby. I just couldn't stay away from the new baby no matter how much I tried.
Around the same time the baby was born we moved into our home from Elm Street to a new place on Harvard St in New Bedford Mass. My father had made the attic into super nice bedrooms and added a bathroom for us girls. My sister Karri and I shared a bedroom that was very large. I especially enjoyed the custom dresser drawers my father had built straight into the wall. Karri and I shared our bedroom for a short time with a family friend that was around Karri's age. The coolest part of the bedrooms and upstairs was the closet. It was deep and huge, and filled with a lot of my toys! It also went all the way the width of the house as a crawl space. Crazy fun for a 6 year old!
What my sister Marie didn't realize was that this crawl space was also a secret passage from our room to her room where there was a small opening just under her babies bed. How would she know? I think I'm the only one who ever spent any time crawling around in there. Maybe that's why I was the only one who appreciated just how cool that closet really was. Marie would cleverly lock me out of her room while the baby was sleeping, looking at my disappointed face with an expression as if to say to me, "Ha Ha!" That was so unfair! I even promised I'd be quiet. On many times where she never new, I'd sneak down through the closets crawl space and out through her bedroom opening. I'd just lay under the babies crib quietly, sometimes I'd even take a nap there. I wouldn't make a sound. I just wanted to be by the new baby.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment