FIVE THINGS YOU CAN REMEMBER ABOUT BEING TEN YEARS OLD

I remember my favorite TV lineup on Friday nights: The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, The Odd Couple, and Love American Style.

I remember my dad coming home from Vietnam. Then my parents divorcing shortly afterwards.

I remember making fish sticks and macaroni and cheese for my younger sister and I on evenings when my mom had to work a double shift as a waitress.

I remember getting my first BB gun. Yes, I almost did put my eye out!

I remember going outside in the summer when the sun came up and we managed to fill the entire day with things to do until we were called in at dusk. We could fit in a baseball game, chase down the ice cream truck, play "guns", ride our bikes over home made ramps, and all without joysticks and cable TV.

Michael

Sounds like a perfect fit with today's write-away camp:

http://www.tbd.com/content/article/basic_article.article:::writeaway8_day1

Oh Michael...Friday night lineup has never been the same!!! Those were the days!

I can remember watching the Mickey Mouse Club

Changing from my good clothes to my every day clothes when I got home from school

Helping my grandpa milk cows when I visited

How we celebrated when my Uncle came home from Vietnam

How scary it was to have asthma attacks

1- I don't know how old I was probably younger then 10 but I saw my Chatty Cathy move. She thought I was asleep. She moved.

2- One Easter I got a slip with an innertube in it. It made my dress stick way out. At this very minute as I'm typing this I wonder if my parents were playing a trick on me. Nah- it wasn't a joke. You could blow it up and your dress would be very sticky outy.

3- One time all 4 of us kids got in trouble and my father made us line up for a spanking. I was last in line but when it was my turn, he didn't spank me. I was the only girl and I think he felt sorry for me because I had been waiting so long and by that time I was scared shitless.

4- When we would go visit my grandmother she would give all of us a spoon and we would go outside and dig holes. We called it diggin'. That's what we did for fun. We dug holes in the dirt with a spoon. We didn't even know that was a stupid thing to do. I still like dirt quite a bit.

5- One time I didn't want to wear my saddle oxfords to school so I snuck my Sunday shoes into my rain boots and wore my pointy toed shoes to school. I got caught but I don't remember getting in a lot of trouble for it. Sometimes you have to make a plan.

Ten meant:

We had not moved away from NC yet. (notice, I came back,didn't I)

My BBFF lived right around the corner. We talked about our secret crushes even then!

I went to school in my own neighborhood, and was allowed to walk or ride my bike every day.

I got my first guitar.

I won a prize at the Dixie Classic Fair for my crayon portrayal of Africa (one of my sisters still displays it at her house)

I only get five??? I can tell you more....

Dang Olivia, even with the shoes back then, huh?