Reminiscing About the Old Days

On another blog I told about my childhood during World War II. Actually it was a great childhood. You can read about it at http://thestilettogang.com.

But that made me start thinking about my husband and my first home we owned. Hubby was a career Seabee and didn't make much money. The home was in housing development called Rose Park, down payment $100 which we didn't have an easy time scraping up. Our neighbor on one side was an older retired couple (probably the age hubby and I are now) and the woman became a surrogate grandparent to my kids, and on the other side a young couple who had just got married. Across and down the street were two cops, one the corner a fireman. Other Seabess, cops, firemen were scattered here and there.

When we moved there we had three kids, two young girls and a baby boy.

The house itself was three bedrooms, two baths, living room and kitchen. Every house in the tract was the same, the only difference was which direction it was laid out and where the garage was. As time moved on, and our family grew, we added on a family room and screened in patio.

We had a great time in that house. We had lots of parties, in the backyard, in our big family room, parties for adults, parties for all the kids.

Of course hubby was gone some of the time because of the Vietnam War. Every time he went overseas things weren't quite so fun or easy. But I can remember the officers' wives on the base would call me to find out what I knew--which was kind of dumb since they were right there where they could hear all the scuttlebutt and I only knew what I heard on the news.

We did have some friends who did some secret stuff that they kind of hinted at, but nothing I passed on to anyone.

We lived in that house for 12 more years after my husband retired from the service. We had wedding receptions for three of the kids in the family room.

Our youngest daughter and her husband bought the house from us when we moved. They lived in it long enough to have three boys, then they sold it and moved.

It was a great house. Of course we've gone by and looked at it when we've been back in Oxnard--it's gone through lots of changes but still brings back great memories.

Marilyn a.k.a. F. M. Meredith

Comments

Lillie Ammann said…
Marilyn,

I was enjoying your post and it just cut off ... where's the rest?

Lillie Ammann
A Writers' Words, An Editor's Eye
Morgan Mandel said…
Sometimes when you look back, you realize how great you had it, even when you didn't realize it at the time.

Morgan Mandel
http://www.morganmandel.com
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
Marilyn, I had a little chuckle when you wrote about your first house—how all the houses were the same except for where the garage was, etc. Reminded me of my first house! Also, when you used the word "scuttlebut." My first husband was in the navy (before we married) and his language was peppered with words like that!
I had a little chuckle as I read your descriptions of your first house, with only a few differences between the houses. Reminded me of my first house! And the term "scuttlebut" brought back memories as well. My first husband was ex-Navy and used words like that regularly.
Okay, Marilyn...this will be the third time I've tried to leave a comment! Hope it works this time. Sometimes it doesn't seem to work, and then the comment will show up two or three times.

I enjoyed this story and had a little chuckle when you described the house. Brought back memories of my first house. And when you used the word "scuttlebut," that also took me back...my first husband was ex-Navy.
It finally worked, three times. I have to approve any comment, but they only came through this a.m.

Scuttlebutt seems like the perfect word to me, it's more than gossip because it has more truth in it.

Thanks for reading.

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