10 on Tues.day: my childhood

10 Favorite Childhood Memories

1. I'm so glad when Daddy comes home
When Maggie, Dauphie and I were preschoolers, we got excited when Dad came home from work. We would squeal "Daddy's home!" and run and give him big hugs. He was a tickle monster.
When we lived in the Sunset District of San Francisco, before Dad left for the Korean War, we 3 girls were learning to do somersaults in the living room one evening. Dad came home in his dark blue uniform and we asked him if he knew how to do a somersault. Without a second's hesitation to even remove his hat, he rolled off a perfect somersault. At the half way point, as he was rolling onto his back, his hat came off and stayed where his head had touched the floor. We thought it was the funniest thing we had ever seen. Years afterwards, if someone brought it up, we laughed all over again.

2. The Officers' Club dinner and floor show
When we lived overseas, the officers' families were invited to go to the Officers' Club one Sunday each month. The event included dinner, a floor show and dancing to a big band. Dressed in our Sunday best, Maggie, Dophie and I learned formal dinner etiquette for these cherished events. The highlight for us was the chance to do the Mexican Hat Dance and the Bunny Hop. The Bunny Hop involved holding onto the hips of the person in front of you and dancing single file around the room. The Mexican Hat Dance was done face to face with a partner for part of each stanza, then linking arms with your partner and spinning in a circle. After we moved back to the States and three sons had been added to our family, I asked my dad why we never went to the Officers' Club any more. His simple explanation was that boys do not have restaurant manners.

3. Our bride dolls
The most magical Christmas of my childhood was in Italy. All 3 girls woke up to matching bride dolls that came in a small suitcase full of doll clothes and accessories. I couldn't believe it had really happened. I hope every child has a moment like that to remember with fondness.

4. Grandma in Berkeley
My mom's mom and dad lived on Kelsey Street in Berkeley my whole life, until I went to college. Then they moved to my college town and became my anchors there. Grandma's Berkeley house holds so many wonderful memories for me. The craftsman architecture was charming with porches and balconies off of every room. The attic had a window seat with a view down to the San Francisco Bay. Untold home movies and photos were taken of us on the steps out to the street.

Whenever we arrived for a visit, Grandpa would meet us out by his carport behind the house before we even got out of the car. He must have watched for us to arrive. We could not get into the house without getting a bear hug from him so tight you couldn't breathe.
When we lived in San Francisco, we always had Sunday dinner at Grandma's in Berkeley. She fixed roast beef and potatoes every Sunday, with pie or cake for dessert. Often cousins would be there to play with. The dinner prayer was said as we knelt beside our chair. We wouldn't leave to go home to San Francisco until after dark when we were so tired the drive home seemed to take forever. As we drove across the Bay Bridge, my dad would point out the string of car headlights coming toward us that stretched on forever. He said they looked like a string of pearls and often we would count how many lights we passed on our way across the bridge. It worked better than counting sheep.

5. DDT
Mosquitoes were a significant problem when we lived in Japan. We would burn incense next to our bed at night to keep them away or sleep under a tent of netting. In the summer, a jeep would drive around the streets on the navy base spraying a fog of DDT to help control mosquitoes. This jeep was like the Pied Piper in the way it attracted all us children to run in the fog behind it. I was shocked when a decade later we were told that DDT causes cancer.

6. Recess: hopscotch, jump rope, hula hoops, yo-yos and jacks

The 1950s were an age of fads. Our playground was so crowded with hula hoops, you could hardly make your way across it. I loved recess and the chance to go outside and hula hoop, hopscotch, jump rope and play dodge ball. I can't imagine getting through childhood without those great past times. We always wore nice dresses and leather saddle shoes to school. The greatest fad of the '50s by far was the Barbie doll.
7. Saturday matinéesDouble features, serials, and news reels were all the rage on Saturdays before people had TVs. When moms needed to get their shopping done, they dropped the kids off at the movie theater for a few hours of great G-rated entertainment.

8. 30 Day Camping Trip
Before we moved back to the States from Italy, we camped in a tent throughout Europe, Turkey and North Africa. It was a very popular thing for families to do and we usually pitched our tent on a grassy lawn at a campground with bathrooms and a swimming pool. There were lots of kids to play with and we made new friends every night. After pitching our tent and cooking dinner on a gas stove, we pumped up our air mattresses and rolled out our sleeping bags. I remember visiting Stockholm, Copenhagen, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Bern, Istanbul and Libya.

9. Alaska and Hawaii
The flag of 48 stars became our Nation's most enduring flag, existing without change for 42 years from 1912 to 1959. When I was 8 years old, President Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act allowing Alaska to become the 49th U.S. state. A little bit later, Hawaii was admitted to the Union also, making it the 50th state. That meant two more stars had to be added to the American flag. My teacher asked us each to draw what we thought the new flag would look like. It was an exciting and historic time.

10. My mother's prophecy
When we moved to St. Louis in the '60s, it was a mission. While we were there, they built a beautiful stake center and Elder Thomas S. Monson came out to organize and dedicate the St. Louis Stake. As we drove to the dedication, Mom said it was especially significant because, "Someday, he will be the prophet." I marveled that she could know that. He was her age. She passed away in her eightieth year. Twenty-seven months later, he became the president of the Church and I was very mindful that her prophecy was being fulfilled.

Next Week: 10 Inventions That Have Made My Life Easier