AlisonH
His grandmother put his little sisters up to it! She got them to open up the family’s pop-tent trailer we were taking a few days later, make up one of the beds, (short-sheeted it, too, mind you), and throw rice in the sheets!
But then, about fifteen years ago, I happened to mention to Richard that one of my earliest memories was of the day my parents moved into the house they’d just built that I grew up in in Bethesda, MD. Lots of commotion and comings and goings, but what I remember clearly, from age 3 3/4, was of being hustled off out of the way along with some other kids into one bedroom where there were mattresses propped up against the walls and a dresser next to them, and being told, “Don’t slide down the mattresses!”
And then they closed the door.
Whaddya think we were gonna do? I mean, c’mon!
I remember the drawers being pulled out a bit to make steps to ascend the dresser (I may have contributed to that), while some bigger kids (memory is fuzzy here who) simply clambered right straight to King of the Mountain status–and then I remember having a grand and glorious time sliding down after them, the thrill no doubt intensified by the knowledge that, while I was copying the big kids, I was also doing exactly what I’d been told not to. It was a revelation of the possibilities and fears of disobedience. Which is no doubt why I remember it.
“They did yell at us. ‘I told you not to slide down the mattresses!’ I was there. I remember it.”
Wait–what?!
His parents had lived across the street from mine in apartments in DC when both couples had arrived in town as newlyweds; they’d been friends ever since. His folks were helping mine move that day.
Richard was 4 1/2, older and wiser, but he did not set a good example.
And so we have a shared near-earliest memory. Of bouncing on the beds.
A number of years later, his maternal grandma knew we couldn’t yell at his little sisters after our honeymoon (if you haven’t read about that skunk, go, click, don’t miss it) if she had been the one who’d put them up to it. The little stinker.
Practically an arranged marriage, don’tcha think?
12 Comments so far
Leave a comment
How cute. thank you for sharing and giving me a chance to smile.
Comment by Henya 02.15.10 @ 2:23 amTalk about wildlife adventures, huh? lol Conratulations for not laughing in that situation!
You could buy some stripped black and white chocolates as a “sweet” reminder of the evening. 😉
Comment by Suzanne in Mtl 02.15.10 @ 7:10 amMy mother in law remembers how she and her brothers would take a black sock and sew a strip of white fabric to it. Then they would tie it to a string and lay it in the road at dusk. By carefully pulling the string, they convinced several people that there was a skunk in the middle of the road. It was great until a friend of their parents discovered the skunks in the hedge. Busted!
Comment by LauraN 02.15.10 @ 8:42 amLove it. My earliest memory of the Knight is him chasing me around the old firehouse, and I ran SMACK into an open fire truck door…
Comment by Channon 02.15.10 @ 8:56 amNow, that’s funny. We had a skunk hat and I remember the family clown, pulling it on a string, in an arena across the front of a line of horses and riders waiting their turn and us laughing to see them all back up quickly. It also rode in the back window of the car and once, by the same clown, was taken into a cafe and put on his lap and lovingly petted.
Comment by Sherry in Idaho 02.15.10 @ 9:05 amWow, that really does approach a lifetime together. Your paths crossed early (and I loved how they later crossed with the skunks. Hee.) BTW, a few years ago a friend sent me a recipe for homemade marshmallows. You’ve got a year to find a skunk shaped cookie cutter. I know they’re out there. I got my folks a groundhog shaped one from a company that does all sorts of wildlife.
Comment by LynnM 02.15.10 @ 10:15 amOh, that skunk story is hilarious! I’m glad I can laugh, even if you couldn’t!
I was wondering if you were told NOT to slide down the mattress because the adults knew you would, and that would keep you out of, ahem, trouble. But then they scolded you, so maybe not.
Other fun –
Following years of effort, a scientist finally cloned his own genes. He was so thrilled that he was beside himself.
Comment by Don Meyer 02.15.10 @ 11:27 amI’ve got a squirril cookie cutter. I’ll have to see if it could pass for a skunk.
Comment by LauraN 02.15.10 @ 2:31 pmWhat a beautiful story. No wait, what beautiful 3 stories. Oh, I give up. It’s all just one wonderful story with many many chapters, and I love reading every one of them.
Comment by karin maag-tanchak 02.15.10 @ 5:55 pmHaha, yup, that’s for sure! You and Richard surely must have been an item from early on. 🙂
Comment by Monica 02.15.10 @ 10:47 pmCongratulations! I tease about our “arranged” marriage, too, but my aunt won’t take any credit. My husband (4 years older) was friends with my cousins before I was even born. He knew my family before I did. He pushed me in a pedal car when I was about 4. Then I realized he was really cute when I was 13. He still is.
Comment by DebbieR 02.15.10 @ 11:48 pmLeave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>