My Thirteenth Year

I have a feeling it was pretty nondescript. I don't remember anything that was exciting or interesting exept almost drowning in the city pool. I took swimming lessons and never really got the hang ot it. To pass my test I had to swim in the "deep part" and come back to the teacher. I would not open my eyes because the chlorine hurt them so I kept swimming until the teacher became concerned and used a net to "drag" me in. Now that was embarrassing!! I remember that I was the treasurer of Student Council, I played piano and electric organ for church. I taught Bible School for the little ones in the summer.

My friends and I went roller skating on Friday nights. I never was able to "dance" on skates or go backwards. But I really enjoyed it. I remember that I had to rent skates because I didn't have my own pair. I think that they were twenty five cents or less. The music was organ music. I always wished that I could play good enough that I could record music for the roller rinks. I can still see the disco type lights that would be circling the rink. That was for "all skate." For "couple skate" that was altogether different. The lighting was romantic and music slow!I think on Saturday nights we went to movies and hung out with each other. I even enjoyed being home with my parents and watching Lawence Welk.

When I was thirteen my grandparents came to live with us. That was traumatic because we had to move out of our bedrooms for them to have a place to sleep. They were both frail especially my grandfather. He was very crabby and my grandmother very mild mannered and sweet.

At the end of that year was another milestone. That year my mother became a psychiatric aide at the Mental Health Institute and worked the afternoon shift. She was not home when we were home. What a difference that made. Dad was home and we were plenty old enough to stay by ourselves any way but we really missed her. Mom told me several times after that that she never wanted to live with us kids. She said it was not a good thing for a family. I can remember my dad sleeping in a chair with his feet propped up for a make shift bed. We nade it through though. My grandmother died when I was fifteen and then my mother had my grandfather sent to a nursing home. He was so much happier there. He was Santa Claus and actually smiled and had a good time. You just never know. Our family unit was a strong one and as much as I resisted the strong religious beliefs of our family I do think that was one of the big things that kept us together.