freemotion
Food Guru
Thanks for sharing your life!
From NYC Single truck driver...to farmer "dad" with 5 kids.
- Thread starter justusnak
- Start date
Thanks for sharing your life!
Quail_Antwerp
Cold is on the Right, Hot is on The Left
I'm reading these, and while they are cute and funny, they are also very sweet and encouraging...I'm bawling like a sap reading them!
(read the pony story to Ernie and he was cracking up!)
(read the pony story to Ernie and he was cracking up!)
- Thread starter
- #13
justusnak
Almost Self-Reliant
Rashes????
As the tomatos started coming on...dad was amazed at the fresh taste of vine ripe tomatos. Mom kept warning him to slow down eating them, because of the high acid in them. Of course...he wouldnt listen, and was eating half a dozen or more a day, fresh from the garden untill.....one evening he woke up the entire house, moaning and complaining of this "rash" Mom knew imediately what was going on...and told us kids to go back to bed, everything was alright. Dad wasnt with mom on this, as he was suffering from what grandma always called" tomato itch". The next morning dad was suffering so much, mom finally took him to the ER, and they gave him a shot for the rash. Mom got him home, and made him soak in the tub, with oatmeal....something we kids dreaded when we had to do it...but secretly we were laughing at dad.
Another "rash" that went through the family.....
One summer day...us kids noticed that the farmer next to us was burning the fencerow....and the smoke was so think you could barely see through it. So, off into the smoke we went..to "play war" We had fun for hours in the field of smoke, throwing mud bombs at each other...makeing bomb sounds, and the smoke just made it more fun. After the smoke started to clear..off to the house we went..smelling smoky, covered in dirt..and worn out. Mom threatened us to not come into the house, untill we went to the creek to rinse off. So, another few hours playing in the creek, then home just before dinner. Dureing dinner...mom saw a few of us, starting to itch..over and over. Then a few more of us were itching...by bathtime, she had realised what the issue was. See, the farmer was burning poison ivy, and poison oak from the fencline. Yup, we played in that smoke for hours...5 kids, COVERED in rash! My sister Penny and I had it the worst, in our eyes, ears, and mouth. We had to go to the hospital for shots as well. Then...5 kids, miserable, scratching, and soaking in oatmeal baths. How my mother made it through all this, I will never know. Of course as if the rash wasn't enough, we had to listen to mom telling us over and over... " you kids are going to be the death of me, stop scratching, how I make it through every day I will never know, stop scratching, NO you can not go outside and play, stop scratching!!!
My poor mother...
Another summer....Jeff, Becky, Penny and I were playing in the farmers hay barn. Now..we had played in this barn for months! High in the hay loft we would climb, and move bales around, building "forts" In the peak of the barn there was a rope hanging....not really sure what that rope was originally for, but we made great use of it! My brother climbed the wall...to the roof peak, and was able to grab the rope, and swing untill he got it to the loft, where us girls were waiting. We would take turns swinging out on that rope, and dropping into the loose straw below, some 30 feet or so. Not once did we thing there might be a pitch fork, or anything else in that loose straw.
Kids! One day we were out there building our forts, when Becky screamed out...something is biteing me!! I looked over to see a swarm of yellow jackets all around her. I screamed for everyone to run...but it was too late...the bees were attacking us all. We came flying out of that barn, stripping our clothes off as we ran towards the house. Mom heard the commotion, realised what was going on, and yelled for us to head straight for the creek! The 4 of us had between 5 and 10 stings each...naked, swollen, and crying, we all made it back to the house, where mom stood waiting with a pan of fresh mud. She slathered each sting, and made us sit under the tree..with just our underclothes on, untill the mud dried. When dad came home from work that day, he saw us sitting there in our underclothes, with mud spots all over us...stopped..stared..then shook his head and walked inside to find out just what we were doing like that. Mom explained everything to him...and he just HAD to get a picture of us sitting there. We were not laughing tho. 
That was the last summer we played in that old barn.
As the tomatos started coming on...dad was amazed at the fresh taste of vine ripe tomatos. Mom kept warning him to slow down eating them, because of the high acid in them. Of course...he wouldnt listen, and was eating half a dozen or more a day, fresh from the garden untill.....one evening he woke up the entire house, moaning and complaining of this "rash" Mom knew imediately what was going on...and told us kids to go back to bed, everything was alright. Dad wasnt with mom on this, as he was suffering from what grandma always called" tomato itch". The next morning dad was suffering so much, mom finally took him to the ER, and they gave him a shot for the rash. Mom got him home, and made him soak in the tub, with oatmeal....something we kids dreaded when we had to do it...but secretly we were laughing at dad.
Another "rash" that went through the family.....
One summer day...us kids noticed that the farmer next to us was burning the fencerow....and the smoke was so think you could barely see through it. So, off into the smoke we went..to "play war" We had fun for hours in the field of smoke, throwing mud bombs at each other...makeing bomb sounds, and the smoke just made it more fun. After the smoke started to clear..off to the house we went..smelling smoky, covered in dirt..and worn out. Mom threatened us to not come into the house, untill we went to the creek to rinse off. So, another few hours playing in the creek, then home just before dinner. Dureing dinner...mom saw a few of us, starting to itch..over and over. Then a few more of us were itching...by bathtime, she had realised what the issue was. See, the farmer was burning poison ivy, and poison oak from the fencline. Yup, we played in that smoke for hours...5 kids, COVERED in rash! My sister Penny and I had it the worst, in our eyes, ears, and mouth. We had to go to the hospital for shots as well. Then...5 kids, miserable, scratching, and soaking in oatmeal baths. How my mother made it through all this, I will never know. Of course as if the rash wasn't enough, we had to listen to mom telling us over and over... " you kids are going to be the death of me, stop scratching, how I make it through every day I will never know, stop scratching, NO you can not go outside and play, stop scratching!!!
My poor mother...Another summer....Jeff, Becky, Penny and I were playing in the farmers hay barn. Now..we had played in this barn for months! High in the hay loft we would climb, and move bales around, building "forts" In the peak of the barn there was a rope hanging....not really sure what that rope was originally for, but we made great use of it! My brother climbed the wall...to the roof peak, and was able to grab the rope, and swing untill he got it to the loft, where us girls were waiting. We would take turns swinging out on that rope, and dropping into the loose straw below, some 30 feet or so. Not once did we thing there might be a pitch fork, or anything else in that loose straw.
Kids! One day we were out there building our forts, when Becky screamed out...something is biteing me!! I looked over to see a swarm of yellow jackets all around her. I screamed for everyone to run...but it was too late...the bees were attacking us all. We came flying out of that barn, stripping our clothes off as we ran towards the house. Mom heard the commotion, realised what was going on, and yelled for us to head straight for the creek! The 4 of us had between 5 and 10 stings each...naked, swollen, and crying, we all made it back to the house, where mom stood waiting with a pan of fresh mud. She slathered each sting, and made us sit under the tree..with just our underclothes on, untill the mud dried. When dad came home from work that day, he saw us sitting there in our underclothes, with mud spots all over us...stopped..stared..then shook his head and walked inside to find out just what we were doing like that. Mom explained everything to him...and he just HAD to get a picture of us sitting there. We were not laughing tho. That was the last summer we played in that old barn.
freemotion
Food Guru
Post the picture????
Quail_Antwerp
Cold is on the Right, Hot is on The Left
I agree!!!!!!!freemotion said:Post the picture????
reinbeau
Moderator Extraordinaire
Debbie, your reminiscences are delightful, I love each and every one - and can't wait until the next! It sounds as though you mom really lucked out with her second husband (many of us do!) - and so did you guys! 
- Thread starter
- #17
justusnak
Almost Self-Reliant
Ohhhhh NO! I can not post those pics! HAHA! Even tho I was young...those are for family eyes only! LOL
Thanks for the wonderfull comments all. Ya know....growing up, I never knew we were poor...loking back now..I wonder " how did mom and dad do it?" Dad was a great man...sadly he passed away in 84 from cancer....Mom passed away 2008. I guess coming up on the anniversary of her passing, I am getting a little melancholy(sp) and just want to remember the " good old days" NOT the times ahead, without my parents to share my grandkids with.
Thanks for the wonderfull comments all. Ya know....growing up, I never knew we were poor...loking back now..I wonder " how did mom and dad do it?" Dad was a great man...sadly he passed away in 84 from cancer....Mom passed away 2008. I guess coming up on the anniversary of her passing, I am getting a little melancholy(sp) and just want to remember the " good old days" NOT the times ahead, without my parents to share my grandkids with.
miss_thenorth
Frugal Homesteader
Sounds like that creek came in handy for alot of things!
Farmfresh
City Biddy
Great stories! Keep it up!!
me&thegals
A Major Squash & Pumpkin Lover
These stories are wonderful! It sounds like your dad was an incredible guy and a lot of fun for you all that first year of training Let's hear more!
Let's hear more!
