Growing up in the Suburbs

dreaming of gum and Kool-aid

I always felt that I was a very conscientious mother who took pains to make sure my children had good food and infrequent amounts of candy and Kool-aid. Kool-aid was very popular in the 1970's and 1980's. The semi permanent orange and purple rings around kids mouths gave me nightmares about the damage it could do to their insides. This nightmare included gum. I could visualize it tying their colons in knots. The worry however would be  quickly turned around.

One of the beautiful parks near our Ontario home

Ontario Fall

Walking in the neighbourhood with my daughter one day, I saw a horrific sight. S bent down and quickly picked up something from the pavement. Standing there transfixed I slowly realized what it was that she had picked up. It was in her mouth being chewed before I could move. Yes, it was gum, black with dirt that had been walked on, peed on, no doubt by a dog, maybe a cat. Surely it was licked by a skunk and maybe even snotted on by one of those men who delight in emptying their noses on the sidewalk. There and then it was gum for my kids anytime they wanted it, fresh and clean from my hoard.

It was exciting, nerve wracking but at the same time gave me a sense of freedom, going back to work.  I planned all the details of how the household would run without me there. One of these details involved my daughter and son making their beds each morning after they got up. On the weekends I would change the bedding and makeup the beds. My husband, who had a contracting business could leave later than me for work. It was his job to give the kids breakfast and see them off to the local school.  Arriving home from work one day I happened to notice my son playing outside, wearing, the same clothes he had been wearing the day before. I was certain of this as I could see dried dinner stains from the day before's dinner down the front of his outfit. "Dermo" I said to my husband "why is C wearing dirty clothes from yesterday?" "I did not realize he was" said he. "He had his coat on, his face scrubbed and his hair combed when leaving  for school. He looked like a clean well dressed kid". On further investigation I found out the details of my sons routine. At night he would put his pyjamas on over his clothes. He would sleep on top of the bed I had made on the weekend and pull an extra quilt over himself. I had thought he looked so cute and cuddly when I would kiss his, no doubt, fake sleeping face at night.

My daughter was very much an individual. The kids in the neighbourhood would change out of their school clothes after school. They would put on old play clothes so they could splash around in water and mud. My daughter would also change. She would however put on one of her party dresses. My relatives in Ireland sent her fancy party dresses full of ribbons and lace for birthdays and Christmas. She was very proud of what she called her European dresses. "S you will ruin that lovely dress" I would say. "Ah mom I love it" she would say. "Okay, you might as well enjoy it before it becomes too small for you." If, as sometimes happens with caring relatives, the dress was too large and meant to be saved for another year, she just pinned it to fit. I often found her wearing two dresses and two pairs of socks at the same time as she loved all of them and did not want to choose one over the other.

I have two intelligent kids. I have always been very impressed by their ingenuity.