My Mother the Journalist

My mom was a stay-at-home mom because in the 1960's almost everyone's mom was a stay-at-home mom. She didn't work outside of our home until I was in high school in the late 1970's.  If my mom had been a career woman, she would have been a journalist or a historian.

Why? Because this woman wrote about the day-to-day activities of her kids decades before there were Mommy Bloggers. I had a wonderful evening last night learning about the first five years of my life through my Mom's notes. It's important to remember that I'm the fourth of four kids, so the fact that I had any baby pictures at all is amazing, never mind that I can tell you that I cut my first tooth November 28, 1960, that I stood up alone for the first time on January 24, 1961 or that my first visit to Como Zoo was August 6, 1961. And I wouldn't go on any rides.

Dennis, Christine, Susan & ME (guess we didn't have booster chairs)

June 12, 1961 my mom was thinking I had the three day measles; the next day she realized it was just a mosquito bite. I don't think she would have been a good doctor because besides thinking a mosquito bite was the measles, there was the time she brought me along when she took my sister to see Dr. Demo and he put ME in the hospital - that pesky cough she noted that I had for two days prior to the visit was the croup. So I got to spend Halloween 1963 in the hospital. Don't feel bad for me because my siblings went trick-or-treating on my behalf - "This extra bag is for our little sister who is in the hospital tonight..." I got more candy than all of them combined!

But it was February of 1964 that showed my true individualism and refusal to follow the crowd:

1/2/1964 - Christine has the mumps

1/12/1964 - Rick VerHey has the mumps

1/20/1964 - Sue has the mumps

1/26/1964 - Peggy VerHey has the mumps

2/2/1964 - Dennis has the mumps

2/25/1964 - Mary has the shingles

Yes, the entire neighborhood has the mumps and I get something completely exotic and extremely rare for kids. I wouldn't get mumps until 1976.

I was a talented child - September 17, 1964 - "Mary knows how to whistle" (my uncles - her brothers - taught me).

And I was an annoying child - May 16, 1965 - "I took Mary to church and she whistled in church."  Yes, but was I at least in key? I'm sure that it was from this point on only my dad would take me to church. And we'd sit up in the balcony.

Thanks Mom for giving me my childhood history!  You could have left out the editorial that I was "not very nice in church" for cousin Catherine Ann's baptism.