Today is Wednesday, November 28, 2012. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of lifting weights and 46 minutes of walking=2.5 miles for a November total of 57.7 miles. My weight was 164.0 pounds.
QUOTE from former President Bill Clinton: "Never tell anyone to go to hell unless you can make 'em go."
Today I will write on entry #4 from 50 Thanksgiving Story Starters.
#4. I remember my parents as being___.
When I came into the family as #7 kid my Dad was 41 and Mom was 36. So I was raised when they were going through their 40s and 50s. They were not only raising me but by the time I started school in 1946 there were two more kids (John and Mark) added to the family. By 1946 Paul and Betty were in college and brother Don was not at home as he worked on and stayed at the Tully farm in Mantorville. Some of my memories of Mom and Dad from 1946 to 1958 include the following:
-They worked hard to support 9 kids.
-They had perseverance.
-They believed in a college education for all their kids.
-They had a strong religious faith to keep them going while raising all those kids. When asked once why she had so many kids Mom said "God will help us raise them."
And they made sure that we all went to the Lutheran church every Sunday and got baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Church. I know in Charfield they were tithers - giving 10% of their nursing home income to the church.
-I remember Dad had a hell of a temper and wasn't afraid to use his hands on us. He was pretty mild-mannered but when he got pushed too far you better watch out.
-They always made sure we had enough to eat even when they had to charge groceries at the Erdman's grocery store in Mantorville. Mom told me once when they left Mantorville in 1949 they had over $100.00 charged at Erdman's. In today's dollars that $100.0 would be way into the thousands.
-I remember the wonderful Christmas Eve's we had with the family. We always got more than one gift even though it had to be a struggle for Mom and Dad to buy gifts for 9 kids plus the in-law spouses and then grandchildren starting in 1950. We always sang Christmas carols and read the Bible story of the birth of Jesus from the book of Luke.
-I remember Mom as being a feisty woman - nobody pushed her around or took advantage of her. If they tried they were in for a darn good fight.
- I remember that beer or liquor were never a part of their life. There was never any in the house that I ever remember.
- I remember Dad smoking his pipe until he broke his ribs and punctured his lung at age 55. When he came home from the hospital he went staight to the drawer to get one of his pipes but couldn't find any. He couldn't find them because Mom had thrown them all away or hid them. The end of the story is he never smoked again.
-And I remember Dad and Mom as being two of the most respected people in the towns where they lived.
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