Corners of My Mind

Simple Times Chapter one

After WWII people were starting to get back on their feet, our soldiers were coming home, and the baby boom began.
Most people born during this time came to be called "baby Boomers" and I am so proud I grew up in those wonderful years.
My dad worked in construction and helped build most of the major highways in several central states.
We traveled from job to job and got to see things that we would have not otherwise been able to see,
Times were hard and we didn't go on vacations, but I don't think I knew enough to even miss this thing called vacation.

By the time I was old enough to start school, my family had settled down in Dallas. Unlike my brother, who went to
several schools before graduating in Dallas, I got to stay in one area and make friends.
I loved school and did well when I put my mind to it. By this time it was the 50s' and life was good.
If I could go back in time I would take the 50s' for sure. There was not a better time to be a kid growing up.
Summertime was my favorite season and I didn't have a care in the world.
Kids played outside in the hot sun, as we didn't have air conditioning, just some fans or water coolers.
We rode our bikes, skated on the side walks, and chased the ice cream truck.
The only time we came inside was for lunch or to play a game long enough to cool off.
T.V.s' were black and white only and not much to watch if you were a kid.
I remember the lady next door always watched her soaps or an old movie.
Everyone knew when to come in for dinner, or as we called it, supper.
After the evening meal and cleaning up the kitchen most everyone would sit out in their yards.
This was the time to visit with your neighbors and see what your kids were doing.
When it got dark we all knew it was time to get ready for bed. Another day gone by, but time didn't matter
because we were kids with no conception of time, just living in the moment.

Summertime wasn't all fun and play, but times were simple and people enjoyed working hard,
and at the end of the day, it was all about family time.

Most women stayed home and were full time mothers, but through most of my school years, my mother worked to help with
the bills. Back then most people didn't work weekends, especially Sundays. Everything was closed on Sundays
and we went to church and enjoyed a special family meal after church.
Sundays were spent visiting relatives or having them over for dinner.
This was not only family time, but part of having an enjoyable day and then getting ready for work and
school at the end of the day.

Even though my mother went to work each day, she still got up early to prepare a big breakfast every morning.
Everything was made from scratch, no frozen stuff, but just good old country cooking.
Mother believed in a healthy meal before sending me off to school. She made sure I had money for a hot
lunch each and every day. Then when we all came home, she cooked another meal. I never saw my mother take much
time for herself, so I didn't mind helping out, as all the girls did back then.
She never demanded or asked much of me, but because of the way I was raised and I loved her, I wanted to work right by her
side most of the time.
From the time I was big enough to stand up in a chair, I was washing dishes and learning how to cook.
We didn't have a dish washer so everything was done by hand. No microwaves or fast food for our family.
As I got older, I helped out with the meals and I truly enjoyed cooking and I was a pretty good cook for a kid.
Looking back on these times I realize that I was much older and more mature than most of my friends my age.
My mother was my best friend and a teacher of life. Everything I know, I owe most of it to my mother
and my dad for teaching me about cars and the common sense they both taught me.

Until I was grown and had a family of my own I never understood how hard my mother worked to care for our family.
I regret that I never told her how much I appreciated everything she did for me, and now she is gone.




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