I was the youngest of six kids, and I have a twin sister. I grew up around cattle in a small town of 800 people. I knew everyone and could count on neighbors for anything. My grandma lived up the road, and we could always go to her when we ran out of sugar, hairspray, or even toilet paper.
The closest store was thirty miles away, and once a month Mom planned a trip to Wal-Mart. I remember she bought things in bulk like shampoo, shaving cream, and office supplies for my dad.
We were a close family. My brothers played football, basketball, and baseball. I did sports too; ran track and cross-country in high school. For fun in the summer, we had a horse trough, filled it with water, and floated around on inter-tubes. We pretended to be at the ocean. We also had a Basketball hoop.
I had a cousin who was my age and lived up the road. We would take sheets into the trees and make a tree-hut. We would use kitchen utensils and tie old rags around trees to make a sink. We spent hours up there.
Today, kids are just on their tablets. It’s sad.
I went to school to be a pharmacy tech, but married young at nineteen, had kids and stayed home with my family. Today, we have four children, ages nine, seven, five, and two. The oldest is a boy, and the three youngest are girls.
One thing I remember the most is talking with my twin sister. Every night we would talk, and I don’t think many people have that. We shared a room until we were seventeen.
What I liked most about being raised in a small town, was the freedom of doing whatever we wanted and not being afraid of being abducted. Out parents trusted us to come back when we said.
I feel most lucky I was taught good values of hard work and being able to solve problems together. Being from a large family, we had to make decisions together to try and please everyone.
Enjoyed! Nice to see stories from the young women!
I know Lois, such a sweet story from a sweet woman.
By accident, I ran across your blog. Is Marva Lee your sister?. I always thought highly of her. She was in my class from 4th grade through my sophomore year of high school. We moved to Nebraska that summer and I graduated elsewhere. I also took lessons from Mrs. Holt but can’t remember her first name. Her daughter’s name was Helen and there were a few times when she gave the lessons while her mom was vacationing with her husband. He was a member of the Colorado House of Representatives, as I recall.
Hi Dorcas, yes, Marva Lee is my sister. I think highly of her too:) I took lessons from Mrs. Hold too, although you wouldn’t know it today. I think she had Alzheimer’s in her later years. Sad. I don’t remember what her husband did.
I have had major problems with my website, and therefore have not been using it. I hope to continue writing rural women stories.
So nice to hear from you, and I will let Marva Lee know your kind words:)