I've been thinking about memories from when we were little, mostly because Lucy hounds me constantly to tell her stories of when I was little like her.
The best word to describe our childhood was FUN. Our mom is so fun and she was the life of our party as kids. If we went to Disneyland she insisted that we get there at opening and wait on Main street and then stay "until the last dog died" and I can still remember how excited she was as we waited on Main street and how she'd push us all day long to try everything and how she'd laugh and smile at everything we did all day.
But the memory that is sticking out most in my mind this morning is from when I was about 6 or 7 years old. It was one of those super hot July or August days in Banning and we relied on the swamp cooler mostly to cool us off. I don't remember why we had been out for a walk but I do remember that she and I, and maybe Randy too, were walking back up 41st street in the heat. Everyone knows Mom hates heat.
So as we were walking she was encouraging us by telling us how we'd get a big drink of ice water at home. After a while that wasn't enough for us and she said, "Oh! I have a great idea. When we get home we're going to set up the baby pool and just lay in it and cool off." I remember thinking she was crazy because we were "big kids" and she was an adult. My mental boundaries did not include my mom swimming in a baby pool :)
True to her word, when we got home we all got our suits on, dug the pool out of the shed and filled it up.
I remember that being one of the most fun moments of my childhood. Squished into that tiny pool together playing and having fun and cooling off. Probably the reason I remember it so well is because my mom was great at teaching us to break down barriers and unneccessary limitations and just do our thing. not only was she fun, but her attitude toward life was a great teacher for us kids.
I bet we can all think of a million moments when mom was there to say, "Do it! Try it!" and we thought, "No, I can't!" and with her big smile and enthusiasm she convinced us that we could.
It was so fun to read about your childhood memories! I too feel like Dixie is right there to tell me I can do it! I often think about how amazing it is that Shawn is able to just "do" so many things well, and I think this comes from his amazing mother who can do it all!! I am lucky to have such a great example of motherhood!
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