A Little History

So I was born Easter weekend in 1966. I don't remember much about it, actually nothing comes to mind at all. I have been told though that there was a very big snowstorm (one of Toronto's biggest although I don't think the Army was called in). In my almost 46 years (don't know how I got to be so old!) I can only remember a few of my birthdays with no snowfall. While we're on the topic of old I noticed the other day while filling out a contest ballot that I've moved to the next age group. 45-54. When did this happen? I actually lost track of my age before my last birthday. I was asked by an older family friend (whom I hadn't seen in years) how old I was and I answered that I would be 44 in April. Luckily my younger brother was there to remind me that I would actually turn 45. I laid in bed that night thinking how old that would make me. I had always considered 45 to be middle aged. My parents were middle aged or at least they used to be. My birth and childhood were history. How did this happen without me noticing?

My parents lived in Leaside (an area of Toronto) when I was born. I came into the world folded like a taco and bum first weighing 6lbs 10oz. I can't imagine what that experience must have been like for my poor mother! In today's world I would never have been delivered naturally. I'm not sure if it is possible to have any memories of your first year. I know I don't.

When I was 15 months old my 7lb sister was born. I couldn't say her name so I called her Sassy (to this day she is known to everyone as Sas). She was my first best friend (over the years we would take a few breaks from this friendship). The day my Mom came home from the hospital was the day we moved to our new house in Agincourt. Being so young I can't say I remember much but from what I've heard the house was disgusting and bordering on condemnation. It was a fixer upper and needed alot of attention but it belonged to us. My parents worked very hard to make it our home. A huge hedge surrounding the front yard was cut down and the lawn resodded. Every room of the house needed scrubbing and repainting and carpets replacing. I only have memories of how it looked after. It was a nice little three bedroom bungalow near Kennedy and Sheppard. Actually when I drive past it now it seems so much smaller than I remember. Unfortunately it has also once again fallen into disrepair. The current owners should be embarassed by it's appearance.

In 1970 my brother was born. When we saw him for the first time we asked why our Mom didn't get one of the tiny new babies (he weighed almost 10lbs!). I think it was around that time that my parents put the pool in our backyard. That was big excitement in the neighbourhood as I'm pretty sure we were the first to have an inground pool. It's amazing how many people thought it was a community pool and would send their kids in the morning in a bathing suit with a towel assuming that my Mom was the lifeguard. I don't know what goes through peoples minds!

I have many great memories growing up in that house. We would walk to Agincourt mall to get flip chips at Woolco (not sure what they tasted like but I can remember smelling them as you walked in the doors). I also vividly remember the day in 1971 that the Tam O Shanter Golf Clubhouse burned to the ground. We went to watch the firefighters put out the huge blaze. I remember standing near the mall and being able to feel the heat from the flames.

Our neighbourhood was teaming with kids. One family was wonderful enough to adopt six over the years. They were so excited as they brought each child home. Two were my age. A boy and a girl. I guess I would consider the boy to have been my first boyfriend. I had a crush on him for many years (even as a teenager). My fondest memories with them usually took place in their backyard treehouse which they called the green onion. On one side we had a nice dutch family who raised rabbits in their yard. We were mortified to find out that after playing with one of them that they ate it for dinner the next night! They had the most beautiful tulip garden each year, just a wave of colour. I have vivid memories of their two year old taking the brake off in the car and rolling it down the sloped driveway and onto the road. For a while this was a daily occurance. Our neighbours to the other side had two girls the same ages as my sister and I which worked out perfectly, although sometimes we got into trouble together. Sometimes we got blamed for their trouble like the time they picked all of the tulip heads off of the dutch lady's garden and left them scattered on our lawn. Luckily they owned up to it before the neighbour said something to my Mom that she would have regretted. She was livid!! I've heard stories about me disappearing for hours and nobody being able to find me (I think I was 5). My little friend from next door finally admitted that she and I had snuck into a neighbours backyard (the second home to install a pool) and that she had left me there in the pool. The family was away for a few months and actually had the pool drained. We had climbed down the ladder and were running around the empty pool until my friend decided to go home for lunch and pulled the ladder out leaving me stuck. Another time my sister helped a neighbour child by giving her a haircut. This did not go over well with her Mother especially because she was to be a flower girl in a wedding that weekend! Technically it was probably her Mother's fault as she had scissors hanging in her garage where they could be reached. It was such a different time back then. Children could roam the neighbourhood safely. Nobody needed to worry unless we didn't show up for a meal.

When my brother was two we went to Daytona beach and Disney on a family vacation. When we arrived at the hotel he fell in the wading pool and sank to the bottom. My Dad had to jump in fully clothed and pull him out. Silly brother, I guess he preferred to drown in Florida rather than in our own backyard pool. Maybe he was looking for an insurance payout. My sister also had an incident on the beach when she was almost hit by a car after running frantically from a wave that touched her feet. Funny thing was that the first day at the pool she went flying up the big slide and flew down it into the deep end of the pool. I was much more cautious as I was nervous around the water. One of my friends pulled me into the deep end at home when she slipped under the rope. My Dad had to save me that day. Anyway I have the fondest memories of our family vacation. I remember getting up on stage at the hotel restaurant with all of the other children to participate in a hula dance. I remember the teacups at Disney as well as the Country Bears Jamboree and It's a Small World (which is actually a very boring ride but a necessary trip down memory lane). We had such a great time as a family or so we thought. Somehow as children we missed the fact that this was a make it or break it trip for my parents. Shortly after we came home their marriage was over and another chapter was about to begin.