Happy New Year!

 

The above photo is a New Year's celebration from about 1969, maybe.  Those six kids are Sisters #1 & #2's children.  They were spending New Year's night with my parents.  Mom baked cookies and had punch for them to toast to the new year at midnight.  This photo is a classic illustrating the grandkids' and grandparents' relationship.  The grandkids loved my folks.  They were usually happy to spend time there.  Especially when the cousins were there, too.

The two oldest boys are seated in the chairs.  One was born in June 1956, the other in October 1957.  The two boys standing were born in 1960 only 3 months apart.  The two girls were born in 1962 and 1963, 362 days apart.  Everyone had a near-age cousin to pair off with and they did.  The boys would interact together but the girls chose to usually stay to themselves.

The guys would run around the nearby creek, sometimes fishing.  Other times it was pure mischief afoot.  I remember once when the boys had a soap fight.  Mom's utility room was a separate room with the entrance just off the garage.  I do not remember who discovered the mess but I remember a couple of disgusted grandparents.  The soap was the old power kind and it was thrown all over the little room.  The shelves on the wall held all sorts of stuff like ice cream freezers and turkey roasters.  Everything had a substantial coating of Tide power!

The two girls came in after all the boys were born.  My Sister #4 was only 18 months old when the first nephew was born.  With 3 more boys brought into the fold in about three years, Sis 4 literally cried when told another boy was born.  We both were so happy to finally have a niece in 1962.  Now the two girls did not do soap fights.  They did play in Sis 4's clothes, makeup, and shoes.  Nieces 1 and 2 are still sure Sister was only slightly happier about the clothing and shoe-wearing than the aggravation of the boys.  Seems this last Christmas gathering the subject of a frog cooked in the Suzy Baker oven came up.  Those boys and their trips to the creek.  Mischief afoot for sure!

Those years of the older sisters with growing families were still innocent years in comparison to these days.  No one had put cyanide into Tylenol capsules.  Aids had not appeared.  Swine and bird flu were still in the future.  Not totally innocent, though, as there was the Cold War, Cuban missile crisis, troops in Korea, and assignations of JFK, RFK, Dr. King, and Malcolm X.

As sure as those 6 kids in that photo had hopes and dreams of good things in the future, we can look forward with hope.  Hope for good times and the strength to bear the hard times.  Hope for Love with the capital ELL to rule all hearts.  Hope for common sense to once again guide us through the maze of life.

Wishing each and everyone a blessed and peaceful New Year.

Peace,

Janice