A post about my dad would be naturally followed up by one about my mom, right? Right.
I may have gotten my love of classic rock from my dad, and got my love of musicals from my mom. One of the first musicals I remember learning was CATS. We've gone to several together over the years, and these has a special place in my heart.
My mom taught me that sports weren't for guys only. My mom's love of sports and athleticism (even being a Badger State Games representative in her teens) attracted her to my dad. They have been long (loooooong) time Badger fans, and that has rubbed off of my sister and me. In 1993, the Badgers were playing Michigan State in Japan. My parents stayed up late (very late) to watch the game, knowing that the victory would send us to the Rose Bowl for the first time since the 60s. Sure enough, my mom excitedly came into my bedroom and woke me up exclaiming "We're going to the Rose Bowl!" while bouncing my bed.
As I noted in the post about my dad, we would often go along for a family vacation. This often resulted in adventures for Mom, Cassie and me as we explored while my dad was busy with convention stuff. One of the most memorable was when we were in Anaheim (in the mid 1990s). We were trying to find our way to a Hard Rock Cafe and somehow wound up in South Central LA shortly after the riots. Not the best place for three Midwestern gals to be, so we beat it out of there in a hurry! Or the time we were trying to get to another Hard Rock in California (hmmm... sensing a theme) and had to do a lot of creative driving to avoid roads washed out by El Nino rains. My mom was the one who put up with taking us to the theme parks, and I've learned never to pass up an opportunity to use a restroom if one's available from her!
Oh, the things I've learned from my mom. Like how to put out a sweet tailgating spread. The importance of buying things on sale (and justifying the purchase). Saving certain food items (namely, Mint Milanos) for "vacation food" to make them more special in the long run. To always have a Plan B. That money is better spent on memories than things.
Through the years, my parents have been my main support system. When I was in college and stressing over an exam, even though I knew what she would say, it always comforted me to hear my mom tell me "You'll do just fine." :o)
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
TV
Looking back, I watched a LOT of TV. Some of it with my parents, some of it on my own. These are the shows I remember watching often in the 80s and 90s:
- The Addams Family
- Bewitched
- Brady Bunch
- Cheers
- Coach
- The Cosby Show
- Dear John
- The Dick Van Dyke Show
- Dinosaurs
- Doogie Howser, MD
- Double Dare
- F Troop
- Family Matters
- Family Ties
- The Flintstones
- Full House
- Get Smart!
- Green Acres
- Growing Pains
- GUTS
- Head of the Class
- I Dream of Jeannie
- I Love Lucy
- In Living Color
- The Jetsons
- Just the Ten of Us
- Kate and Allie
- Major Dad
- Married with Children
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show
- Mr. Belvedere
- Mr. Ed
- The Monkees
- The Munsters
- The Muppet Show
- Murphy Brown
- My Three Sons
- My Two Dads
- Newhart
- The Partridge Family
- The Patty Duke Show
- Punky Brewster
- Rocky & Bullwinkle
- Roseanne
- Saved by the Bell
- Silver Spoons
- The Simpsons
- Step by Step
- Welcome Back, Kotter
- Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
- The Wonder Years
On golf, conventions, and greasy grimy gopher guts
I love my dad. I've got his taste in music, perfectionist streak, and feet. I've also got lots of fond memories of him from my childhood.
My mom is a banker and my dad is a golf course superintendent. That meant that he would be up at 4 am in the summer and get done with work about 4 pm in the afternoon. Sometimes he would take us back in the evening to the course to set up the irrigation system. I learned to drive a golf cart long before I ever drove a car. You'd think that having access to a golf course would have made me an avid golfer - on the contrary, my dad's general irritation with the members of the course turned me off to the sport. I didn't swing more than a handful of golf balls until my sister and I took a golf class together in college. After big storms, my sister and I would go out on the course to pick up sticks for him. We both worked for him for a few summers during and after high school. I mostly got the easy jobs of painting, weeding, bunkers, and roughs. Nevertheless, I learned that a lot of jobs weren't limited to men only, and if I had an interest in something, I should go for it. That made me one of the few women in my mechanical engineering graduating class.
My dad's career resulted in interesting family vacations. Every year, the GCSAA would have conventions in January or February, and most years, we would join my dad for a family vacation. Over the years, we visited Anaheim, Orlando, Phoenix, and San Francisco. It was nice to go somewhere warm when it was snowy and cold back in Wisconsin.
Since my dad was off earlier than my mom, he would pick my sister and I up from our summer care. When I was in 6th grade, he would come to the YMCA where we spent our days, and we would pile into his old F150 pick up. We developed a habit of singing "Great Green Gobs of Greasy, Grimy Gopher Guts" on the way home, and at the end of the song, we would each sing a different utensil ("and I forgot my spoon/fork/knife!"). My dad would also pick me up when I was much younger, and when we got home, pretend to make coffee for me.
Dad was the one did most of the teaching when I learned to drive. Thankfully, he was pretty patient with me (terrified as I was), and gave me great rules-of-thumb that I still use to this day.
When I was a teenager, we would have mock snap/kick fights in our kitchen. Silly, but something I fondly remember. Dad also was the one who would go on rollercoasters with me.
My mom is a banker and my dad is a golf course superintendent. That meant that he would be up at 4 am in the summer and get done with work about 4 pm in the afternoon. Sometimes he would take us back in the evening to the course to set up the irrigation system. I learned to drive a golf cart long before I ever drove a car. You'd think that having access to a golf course would have made me an avid golfer - on the contrary, my dad's general irritation with the members of the course turned me off to the sport. I didn't swing more than a handful of golf balls until my sister and I took a golf class together in college. After big storms, my sister and I would go out on the course to pick up sticks for him. We both worked for him for a few summers during and after high school. I mostly got the easy jobs of painting, weeding, bunkers, and roughs. Nevertheless, I learned that a lot of jobs weren't limited to men only, and if I had an interest in something, I should go for it. That made me one of the few women in my mechanical engineering graduating class.
My dad's career resulted in interesting family vacations. Every year, the GCSAA would have conventions in January or February, and most years, we would join my dad for a family vacation. Over the years, we visited Anaheim, Orlando, Phoenix, and San Francisco. It was nice to go somewhere warm when it was snowy and cold back in Wisconsin.
Since my dad was off earlier than my mom, he would pick my sister and I up from our summer care. When I was in 6th grade, he would come to the YMCA where we spent our days, and we would pile into his old F150 pick up. We developed a habit of singing "Great Green Gobs of Greasy, Grimy Gopher Guts" on the way home, and at the end of the song, we would each sing a different utensil ("and I forgot my spoon/fork/knife!"). My dad would also pick me up when I was much younger, and when we got home, pretend to make coffee for me.
Dad was the one did most of the teaching when I learned to drive. Thankfully, he was pretty patient with me (terrified as I was), and gave me great rules-of-thumb that I still use to this day.
When I was a teenager, we would have mock snap/kick fights in our kitchen. Silly, but something I fondly remember. Dad also was the one who would go on rollercoasters with me.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Swing, Swing, Swing
Swing dancing made a resurgence in the late 1990s, after I graduated from high school. This was the first music I got into since NKOTB in the 80s. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy was my favorite.
While I was a freshman at UW - Madison, there were regular swing dances at Union South. I sewed a dress to wear with a flaring skirt and scoured the resale shops to the ultimate pair of 40s-style dancing shoes (I never found them). I liked dancing with guys who really knew what they were doing, complete with flips. :o)
While I was a freshman at UW - Madison, there were regular swing dances at Union South. I sewed a dress to wear with a flaring skirt and scoured the resale shops to the ultimate pair of 40s-style dancing shoes (I never found them). I liked dancing with guys who really knew what they were doing, complete with flips. :o)
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