Growing up, we always had dinner together. For the most part, my mom and dad shared the task of cooking dinner until I got old enough and sometimes the task fell to me. I don’t remember anything exemplary about dinners. Our usual conversations were about what we were doing that day or plans for the weekend, or simply goofing around. We shared the meal and had to eat everything on our plates. If there was something new on the table, we had to try it.
Weekends were spent doing chores and homework. My brother and I were responsible for our own rooms and laundry, dishes, dusting, vacuuming, and bathrooms. If we weren’t doing chores or homework, we may have been going with Mom and Dad to nurseries for plants or home repair stores for stuff for the house. Sometimes Dad would be working on projects and we helped, but that was infrequent.
Long vacations ranged from four to fourteen days, when we could afford the time off work. We went on week-long camping trips to the Sierras in the motorhome while towing the jeep. I loved going on these trips since the drive was reasonable and once we got there we could go play and explore for days at a time.
A few times, we endured LONG road trips in the motorhome up the coast from California to Washington or further to Canada. I was older during these trips so they were horribly boring and didn’t entertain me enough to rank high on my Things-I-like-to-do list. To this day, I typically dislike more than a four or five hour drive to my destination.
Twice during our childhood, we traveled to Disneyland for vacation. We camped in our truck camper and then in the motorhome on these trips. Both times, I remember having such a blast I never wanted to leave! On the first one of these trips we also went to Knotts Berry Farm. I don’t remember it all well, but I do know I had a great time.
Our biggest family trip was after my mom’s settlement from her car accident. We went to Oahu when I was eighteen. That was a great trip. I hung out with my brother every day with and without my parents. That was the trip I rented mopeds for the two of us and we went out to Hanauma Bay to go snorkeling. We made it to the top of the parking lot before I skidded out and crashed into a bus. I’m sure that story will be part of another entry, so wait for it!
Once I moved out of the family home, we made it a point to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas together. Some of the best times I remember were when we were all so pinched for money that we just made pasta and hung out playing cards and just reminiscing. Those memories established for me my mantra that I didn’t need “stuff” to be happy. I could very easily be happy with less. Those holidays are some of my best family memories.
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