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Monday, September 13, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Balancing my checkbook was and still is one of my least favorite things to do. My daughter will chase down a discrepancy to the penny. I'm happy if my cheques don't bounce. When I worked for my dad in the jewelry store, I was fine with clients, cleaning and window displays, but I was kept away from the till. My guess is- that even with today's electronic calculators I would still find ways to make mistakes!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Lynn's Comments: For many years, my dear father in law looked after our book keeping. He was thorough and dedicated and would have given me a hand with my finances...I just never asked him to- preferring to say "close enough" when I had to come up with a balance!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Lynn's Comments: In fact, my system, such as it was, worked for me. I was always in the black because I kept a slush fund- ready to transfer into my wavering account whenever it was getting close to the line. The encouraging thing about my method of keeping track of my accounts is- I know I'm far from being the only hit and Mrs. Style of manager!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Lynn's Comments: The subject of money was not so sensitive to me as it was to a friend who felt she had to ask for handouts. I had a full time job, but she "earned" her income by working at home and the amount she spent was severely regulated by her husband who "gifted" her with clothing allowances and money for incidentals. I used her situation from time to time when money was an issue and Elly Patterson felt guilty for not "working".

Friday, September 17, 2010

Lynn's Comments: There were times when I actually sat down and tried to figure out what I actually accomplished during the day. With so many demands on a Mom's time, it was hard to account for the hours. I looked forward to evenings when the kids were in bed, so I could work. I looked forward to holidays and weekends, so I could work. Doing a daily comic strip took an amazing amount of time and I needed to be alone when I was writing. I could draw with life going on around me, but the kids soon learned to ask for cookies and ice cream. When I wasn't able to concentrate. I usually said "yes"! Isn't it strange that we call an actual paying job "work" and don't consider raising children hard work as well. I confess, being a good mom is one of the most challenging JOBS on the planet!!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Like my mother, I was not a fan of chewing gum. The look, sound and storage of chewed but cherished chunks drove a wedge between me and my offspring, who had learned about the sugarless variety from television and had been given a stash by the child-free staff at the dental clinic. They chewed in secrecy, but still the occasional wad found its way into my arena and often with irremovable results.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Lynn's Comments: As a kid, I thought being grown up would be the best thing ever. I thought about the freedom I'd have ... and now that I've experienced many years of freedom... I wonder why I didn't enjoy more those years when somebody ELSE did all the work and all the worrying!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Kitchens are often designed by people who never cook. Our place up north was one of these and the lack of useful cupboard space resulted in the occasional avalanche. We had a wall oven and the cupboards next to this had to contain stuff that wouldn't melt, shrivel or dry out. Imagine the fun we had separating a wad of emergency candles that had been stored in this heated hollow. Yes, a well designed kitchen is a necessity! And I didn't get one 'til my kids were grown and gone!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Lynn's Comments: My husband grew up enjoying warm back rubs as he went to sleep. When, for some reason, his mom could not, he would bribe his sister to rub his back and so it went. When we were first married, I continued the practice...but then...as life became more stressful the bedtime back rub disappeared. This was not a good thing. I was reminded from time to time that something was missing- and it was. My advice, then to other newly connected and consenting adults is: If you can't keep something up forever and ever and ever........don't start in the first place.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Back to school always meant "back to bed" as the kids bumbled home with everything from flu to pink eye. Mine had to be certifiably sick before I'd let them skip school...none of the "thermometer under the hot water bottle" stuff... I wanted proof. Proof of a certified illness usually came in the form of a shared experience, as we all came down with whatever was going 'round. "The family that's sick together sticks together" and we did...under quarantine.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Negotiating for added income with my dad always involved chores. He rarely gave us extra for breathing...there was always a lecture about earning; about effort and reward. My brother and I sighed, rolled our eyes and thought he was mean for denying us a free ride. We grumbled through the assigned chores, watched the clock and thought of Cinderella and other storybook orphans forced to work under the cruel gaze of a merciless supervisor. When we finally received the money, however, there was a real sense of accomplishment in having EARNED it. Perhaps that's one of the reasons we have both been hard and reliable workers.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Lynn's Comments: More than once I said this to my parents. My mom was especially miffed because if she'd had a choice in the matter, she'd have definitely raised someone other than me. It was a subject I often pondered as I looked at the ceiling in my room wondering how I got to be where I was, in this form at this time in history. I remember thinking about other parents and if I could change mine for someone else's- who would I choose. After examining the families of friends, I almost always came back to the parents I had....even though they frustrated me no end with curfews, rules and restrictions.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Lynn's Comments: To discipline or not to discipline. When is it time to be angry and when do you "let it ride". My family has always been into the one liners: never pass up an opportunity for wordplay. Never let a pun go unpunished. So, when a slip of the tongue was a slip of judgement, there was always the dilemma: was it funny enough to be given a star rating for genius or was it just plain rude? Instead of being direct with our opinions, we told the truth in jest and more often than not, the result was banishment to the bedroom for an opportunity to think...while the folks (within earshot) discussed the merits of the performance. No wonder both my bro and I were bound for the entertainment business!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Lynn's Comments: We had an enormous cherry tree in front of our house. One wouldn't think a tree could be so much work, but ours was. Dad pruned it, mom watered it, we treated it like the gift it was and after the blossoms fell, the cherries ripened, we had pies, preserves and fresh berries all from our own garden. The problem was, it dropped stuff. Like a pet, it had to be picked up after. How we resented raking the blossoms and the leaves, how we resented the litter of twigs and the caterpillars that had to be picked from its branches. The tree was not to be climbed and not to be punctured. It was a rival for our affections and sometimes, I think, rightfully so. Sad to say that a few weeks after my parents sold their house the new owners wanted less shade in the garden and cut the tree down. What we'd give now for the right to rake up the leaves and watch the cherries grow again!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Lynn's Comments: I think the idea for this one came more from my babysitting days than it did from our family. The people next door to us on 5th street had four little girls. They were sweet, well behaved kids, but the excuses they made to keep from going to bed were inventive, effective and unending. When one was down, another was up with a request or a need or a fear or SOMETHING! This was all so frustrating- both because my disciplinary skills were rudimentary and because Mrs. Benn always left chocolate cake in the fridge and I couldn't get to it until the kids were asleep. I always wondered how they could stay awake for so long when they were so tired...but I think we did the same thing to our babysitters... a rite of passage for the sitters and the sat!