This week's topic is ~ My Family That I Grew Up InLet's see... where to begin. Here's a story of a lovely lady who was bringing up three very lovely girls... Oh, wait a minute... that wasn't MY family, that was the Brady Bunch! Oops! Okay, my family consisted of my mom, my dad, Leann, Steve, Michelle and me. Leann is 8 years older than me, Steve is 6.5 years older than me, and Michelle is 5.5 years older than me. I was the baby! I grew up in Boulder Hill. Boy does that sound odd to type. It was an unicorporated area of a suburb of Chicago. We moved there when I was 2 and we moved away when I was 18, so all of my growing up took place there. It was a nice place to grow up and I think about our house a lot. My dad worked as a manager for the local newspaper and my mom worked part time nightshift in the ER. The thing is that you never really knew that my mom worked. She was really good at getting home from work to get me off to school, slept duri
ng school hours and was awake when I got home. I don't know how she did it, but she did. My mom didn't drive, but that didn't matter because my dad took here anywhere she wanted to go. They were always together and happy to be together. They would go to "the club" on Friday night to eat and dance. It was like a Moose Lodge, but not that brand. My mom cooked dinner every night and had it on the table at 6pm. My dad ate dinner and read the paper every night. They were pretty "normal". This brings me to my siblings. Leann and I shared a room. I was supposed to share with Michelle, but I somehow ended up sleeping in Leann's bed and it stayed that way till she got married when I was 12. I don't want to say I liked Leann better, but I just felt more comfortable with her. I didn't have any of my things in her room. My mom made "Kari's Korner" in the basement. That was where I kept all my stuff. It wor
ked very well. I remember being with Leann a lot. I know I was with Steve and Michelle, but those memories allude me somehow. When I became a teenager, I was virtually an only child. The others were grown and it was just me most of the time. My best family memories are from trips we took. We used to camp every summer and I loved every moment of it. When I was about 7 or 8, they decided to start going to Wisconsin for vacation. We rented cabins and stayed on the lake. It was the best time and something that sticks with me. I have tried to take my kids on trips like that, but somehow I think we have missed that simplicity of a pop-up camper. I guess I still have time with my younger kids. I guess it is corny to say, but I lived that perfect Beaver Cleaver family life. My parents were good people that loved their kids. We didn't have tons of money, but we had enough. We didn't fly off to Europe, but we fished together. We had Santa Claus, Pik Way shoes, Sears Catalog school clothes, bikes to ride on, snow cones from the "ding ding" man, and trick or treating. I knew that my dad loved my mom and that I was important to them. I was one of those lucky people that was blessed with a good family. It really is something I am very thankful for.
ng school hours and was awake when I got home. I don't know how she did it, but she did. My mom didn't drive, but that didn't matter because my dad took here anywhere she wanted to go. They were always together and happy to be together. They would go to "the club" on Friday night to eat and dance. It was like a Moose Lodge, but not that brand. My mom cooked dinner every night and had it on the table at 6pm. My dad ate dinner and read the paper every night. They were pretty "normal". This brings me to my siblings. Leann and I shared a room. I was supposed to share with Michelle, but I somehow ended up sleeping in Leann's bed and it stayed that way till she got married when I was 12. I don't want to say I liked Leann better, but I just felt more comfortable with her. I didn't have any of my things in her room. My mom made "Kari's Korner" in the basement. That was where I kept all my stuff. It wor
ked very well. I remember being with Leann a lot. I know I was with Steve and Michelle, but those memories allude me somehow. When I became a teenager, I was virtually an only child. The others were grown and it was just me most of the time. My best family memories are from trips we took. We used to camp every summer and I loved every moment of it. When I was about 7 or 8, they decided to start going to Wisconsin for vacation. We rented cabins and stayed on the lake. It was the best time and something that sticks with me. I have tried to take my kids on trips like that, but somehow I think we have missed that simplicity of a pop-up camper. I guess I still have time with my younger kids. I guess it is corny to say, but I lived that perfect Beaver Cleaver family life. My parents were good people that loved their kids. We didn't have tons of money, but we had enough. We didn't fly off to Europe, but we fished together. We had Santa Claus, Pik Way shoes, Sears Catalog school clothes, bikes to ride on, snow cones from the "ding ding" man, and trick or treating. I knew that my dad loved my mom and that I was important to them. I was one of those lucky people that was blessed with a good family. It really is something I am very thankful for. 
1 comment:
It was the Wilderness Campground if I remember right.
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