My grandfathers died before I was born, Granny Shaw was quite elderly, and I rarely saw Granny MacDonald, but I had Aunt Margaret and Uncle Albert.
...Even though Jennie Shaw, my dad’s mother, was 80 when I was six, she still managed to be a powerful influence on my life.
...Because my grandmother turned 80, I got to know dad’s family better, and learned I had a cousin my age.
...When I was 6 1/2, my life started to change: a new church group, a new cousin, starting school, and a book that helped make me who I am.
...When I think back to who I was at six, I have to say that I was probably very much like I am today.
...I’ve heard that a child’s personality is formed by age 6, so I find it surprising that I have only a few memories & a handful of pictures from my 5th year.
...My mother left our visitors in the kitchen, took me up to her bedroom, got a new picture book from the bottom drawer of her dresser, and sat down to read it. Needless to say, I was very puzzled.
...Apart from moving to a brand new town, the most memorable event for me in the summer of 1952 was my being a flowergirl at my Aunt Brucie’s wedding.
...In my short life, we’d already moved from Indian Head, Saskatchewan, to Wolseley. Now, we moved to Crystal City, Manitoba.
...As always, the new year began with my birthday. But it also began with my parents wondering if they should make another change in our circumstances.
...I mentioned earlier that I was given a hot water bottle when I was a baby. While it was great for warming up my bed, I didn’t care for its other use.
...In the midst of a crowd, when I couldn’t see my parents, I felt a little bit afraid. But when a man tried to help me by putting me on his shoulder to help me see, I was terrified.
...Can you imagine how much my mother, who wanted a dainty little girl, disliked my being surrounded by boys and dirt, and reveling in it?
...People look at pictures of me when I was young, and think my hair was lovely. But it was actually the single biggest bone of contention between me and my mother. And I had no control over it!
...My mother had no training in looking after children. Only a Dr. Spock book and a few friends she could go to for advice. Except she’d have trouble doing that. So when I was little, and testing the boundaries, she struggled to make me do as I was told.
...After my parents had lived in Indian Head for about ten years, the move to Wolseley meant starting over.
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