Retro Friday: Childhood memories

So Glenys' Mama tagged me for a Childhood Memories Meme, and it's Friday, so let's roll it all into one:

1) skiing. We skied all  the time. Every weekend. Every winter vacation. We lived on the hill. I just crossed the street and skied down. We skied at a very small center, so I don't remember needing to ski with anyone. We were allowed to roam free, go to our morning lessons and then tire ourselves out all afternoon. This was before people were afraid of kidnappers, obviously, and everyone there knew who I was. I'm either 3 and a half in this picture, so that would made it my 3rd winter skiing.....

2) Camping and B-Day presents.  My birthday is in July, so school was out. My mom made great parties, but most of the kids from school were gone and didn't come. But my God-Father always gave me a very special sport-related B-day present (he owns a sporting good store). 1974, I got this rocking terry green hoody with matching bikini (the top was striped like the pocket). And then we went camping to Virginia Beach, which I always thought was *MY* beach. I didn't LOVE camping, but I loved the family vacations. And we used to see deer outside the tent.

3) Sailing. My Uncle and Aunt had a fairly good-sized sail boat on Champlain Lake. And we would go a couple of times per summer to sail with them. I LOVED it. The scruffy looking guy is my dad. The 70s..... My aunt's glasses would fetch a pretty penny today.  My dad has 2 brothers  and 2 sisters (this one is my god-father) and as the oldest in my family, I was always pretty special to all my uncles and aunts, but somehow, my 2 uncles always made me feel extra special. I remember almost every present they ever gave me, from a transistor radio to a pair of cross country skies.

4) the country house. My dad's family lived *up north*, in ski country. So we went every Friday afternoon and came back every Sunday night. As a teenager, I came to resent this, because I missed out on the regular high school social scene, but as a kid, it was awesome.

We lived on a huge hill (the ski hill) and in the summer, the deserted ski slopes were ours to roam. And we went sailing in little tiny bathtub sailboats in the frigid waters of the lake and boys stuck tadpole in my bathing suit, which I HATED. But we were outside, all the time.

And we had fun. With my brother, and later my cousins. We just hung on the swings and had fun.

5) my family. OK, I don't actually remember my baptism. but here are my mom and dad, with my godparents. This is in a church. Mom, could your dress have been any shorter? And my dad, without a beard. I have no recollection of my father without a beard. I believe he stopped shaving right after I was born. I am so very lucky to have such a fabulous family. My brother and I weren't very close as teenagers, he was so introverted and so wasn't, but we had a great childhood. We had parents that stayed married, which was unheard of. I use to say to people he was the son of my mother's husband, just to sound interesting to all the kids from divorced families.

I'm going to leave you with a bonus picture, of my mother and I just days after my birth. All my life, people have told me I look equally like my mom and my dad. But I just showed hubs this picture of my mother and he was confused. He just didn't understand when this picture of me was taken. I know it's hard to understand for those of you who have only seen me through pictures on this blog, but trust me when I tell you: spitting image. In looks, and I hope, in drive and determination.

Comments

[J]

Yup, a spittin' image! (plus, you have no beard!)

[Beverly Moore]

Great pics and wonderful commentary on your growing up days. Thanks for participating. You have been so busy lately. Hoping Mortimer's Dad is getting stronger everyday.

Beverly

[Katie J]

Your mom's skirt coulda been as short as your God mother's skirt! Great pictures, great post. Thanks for taking us back in time with you with pictures!

[ieh21]

wow, I've known your mother for a while now, and I could never have guessed how alike the two of you look like before seeing this picture. Amazing!