The house was white stucco, trimmed in green. My bedroom window is the top right, I shared the room with my older sister Geri. My brother Michael often slept in with us too because Geri was a great story teller and leader of our nightly games. In the dark we'd play, "Guess what I see", and "I'm thinking of something that's the color....red!" Also whoever raised their hand first when the lights of a car came down the street got a point....we'd play that game quietly after our parents had warned us repeatedly to stop giggling and go to sleep. We had a double bed that had a metal headboard. It squeeked and was great for sticking gum on to save till morning. The matress was well worn but great for jumping up and down on, it was the best trampoline ever. During the hot summer we'd push our bed up against that window so we could get a little fresh air, there was no fan or air conditioning.
My brother Robert's bedroom (and Michael's) was the window on the left. Robert told me that a gorilla lived on the roof outside our bedroom windows, after that I didn't like when the bed was pushed up against the window even though Geri assured me that Robert was a liar!
We had a large plastic Santa that Robert would put out on that roof every Christmas. It was about 5 feet tall and lit up. One winter day there was a horrid blizzard, the wind was whipping that Santa all over the place. Rob and I were worried it would break so we asked our mom for help getting the Santa inside but she told us leave it alone, it was too dangerous to try to bring it in. Rob and I were determined. (I think I was 6 and he was 12.) He hung out the window while I hung on to him. I remember that Santa was whipping around, but he was able to get ahold of it and we brought it into his bedroom. We hid it in his big closet so our mom wouldn't find out we'd rescued it!
The backyard was our world for the first few years of our lives. I knew every square inch of it including what flowers bloomed and when. In the summer we had a small pool to play in, and there was a swing set. We did have a garage at one time which I was frightened of but my mom had it torn down, well, more like it fell down when the men came to take it down. The family joke was that one man leaned against it and it fell down. When the garage was gone we had a large cement pad that was great for drawing on with chalk or riding our tricycle on. Michael had a tricycle that I got to ride sometimes, I never had my own bike. Later, Geri and I shared a grey bike with balloon tires, I couldn't even sit on the seat when I rode it because it was too big.In the winter we'd freeze the yard for ice skating. Robert rigged up a light off the railing above the backporch so we could skate into the night. I can remember praying for snow, and then when it finally came we'd put on our overalls (I hated those ugly brown overalls but they sure kept me warm) and boots to go out to stomp the snow and water it down so it would freeze smooth. My mom was usually out there with us and the neighbor kids, while my dad was making popcorn and hot cocoa for when we came in from the cold. My eye glasses always steamed up, and my fingers and toes tingled from being cold. I can remember all of it like it was yesterday.
The backporch was one of my favorite places in the house. On the porch was an old wooden toy box that had been pink at one time and even though we didn't have very many toys that box held some treasures. There was a small bed on the porch for afternoon naps, and a large dining room table where we ate in the summertime. On warm summer evenings we'd all sit out there enjoying the breeze coming in the big screened windows. In the winter it was cold on the porch. My mom used it as a refridgerator sometimes.
The windows at the back of the house upstairs were to my mom's bedroom, and the small window was her closet. The closet was huge. I loved playing in it. It was always neat and organized. There were large shelves at the back of the closet where Michael and I used to climb up on and hid among the blankets.
On those very very hot summer nights we'd lay blankets down in front of my mom's bedroom window. Then we'd all line up along the floor in front of the window, 5 kids and my mom! I think we might have had a little fan, but actually I don't remember it blowing on us. I just remember being so hot I couldn't breathe and so tired I just wanted to go to sleep. Geri and Michael were afraid to sleep next to the closet door which was closed so I would take up position there even though I was afraid too but very brave.
We moved when I was 11 years old. My childhood ended with that move. Things were never the same after that. My sister Mary got married right before we moved. I had to contend with a new school, new church, new neighborhood, and new friends. My dad died. My life changed but I'll always have those wonderful memories growing up on 73rd and Ada.
"When you finally go back to your old home, you find it wasn't your old home you missed but your childhood. Sam Ewing"
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