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| Oh, the places we went . . . |
Mom was washing the floor.
Something she did often.
Because.
I should mention also that, when Mom
washed the floor, she WASHED the floor.
Everything portable was carried into
the next room.
She got down on her knees with a pail
of hot, soapy water and scrubbed.
Then she applied wax.
Then she ran the polisher.
Which looked like a big, green bug on a
long stick.
Just FYI.
The floor shone like a mirror.
Perfect for sliding on with stocking
feet.
But this story isn't about that.
This story starts where she carted the
portable stuff into the next room . . .
As soon as the chairs appeared in the
living room, George and I would materialize.
From what ever places we had
disappeared into when Mom announced that she needed helpers to wash
the floors.
Ahem.
We would line the chairs up, one behind
the other.
Voila! Bus.
George would be the bus driver and I
would be the lady with the 400 children riding in the back.
Okay, you're right. I didn't have 400
children.
But I did have 400 stuffed animals.
Sheesh.
You're such a stickler for details.
Moving on . . .
Happily, we played until Mom finished
with the floors and came out to dismantle our playground.
Actually, it was the one time in the
week that George and I did play happily together.
A thing of note.
Oh, the places we went.
The children we dropped out of the
windows.
Good times.
An aside: the couch worked well for a
bus, too, but there was just something about articles of furniture
sitting where they usually . . . didn't . . . that inspired – play.
Moving ahead many, many years.
Yesterday, some of our grandchildren
were over for a visit.
Two of the kids had lined up several of
grandma's stools.
I was holding granddaughter number
five.
So I was instructed that I could be the
mommy in the back with the baby.
Number three grandson, announced that
he would drive.
It was then that I realized - they were
playing bus.
I sat in the back as I had been told
and I had to smile.
Suddenly, I was four years old again.
It was a good feeling.
It's complicated playing bus with the grandson...so many instructions....so many stops...so many tickets and transfers...it wearies one. Still, it is fun to be four again.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I still have one of those polishers. One of these days I may actually wash a floor.
Kids are so much more knowledgeable now. I didn't even know you had to pay to ride a bus when my brother and I were playing.
DeleteP.S. Washing floors is overrated . . .
I bet you hummed your baby to sleep as the bus rolled along.
ReplyDeleteI did! We sang 'The Wheels on the Bus'. About a jillion times . . .
DeleteI love it! My brother and I used to play Pilgrims and Indians-- my mom and dad's bed was the Mayflower. All my dolls were the kids on the ship... and when one was "bad," we'd drop kick them off the Mayflower... which in turn, if it was lined up just right, down the first flight of stairs.
ReplyDeletewww.momontherunx2.com
Yep. The ol' drop-kick-off-the-Mayflower (or bus) I knew it well! You and your brother sound like our kind of people! :)
DeleteReminds me of the blanket cities we built over upturned chairs...
ReplyDeletePearl
p.s. Mary and I still scrub floors, when paid to do it! , on our hands and knees!
Oh the blanket cities!!! I loved those! You and Mary are my heroes. Do you and Mary also sing 'Wheel on the Bus' while you're scrubbing? Just wondering . . .
DeleteWe rode the same bus! With seven in our family, our bus was big and noisy. My mother was on her hands and knees scrubbing and polishing. I must play bus again soon.
ReplyDeleteI highly recommend it. The playing, not the scrubbing . . .
DeleteYes I too remember playing bus, however having grown up in the Philippines in my formative bus was called a Jeepney, good memorie.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to hear your stories!!!
DeleteYes I too remember doing something like this as a child I however growing up in the Philippines called my bus a jeepney..good memories :)
ReplyDeleteI remember the bus and the Drive-In-Theater. That little projector and the Disney film strips. Thanks for bringing back that memory.
ReplyDeleteI remember that little projector! I had forgotten all about it! Such good memories!
DeleteAwe, that was so cute Diane, such awesome memories you have;)
ReplyDeleteThank you,Launna! I so like living in the past!
DeleteOh the memories. My Mom used to do the exact same thing. :)
ReplyDeleteWeren't Moms fun!
DeleteOh the world of imagination! I think that's something a lot of kids are missing these days. ; S
ReplyDeleteYou're so right, Lynn! they have such sophisticated toys that they don't have to use their imaginations any more. Sigh. Gone are the days of the cardboard box.
DeleteWow, brings great memories! We used to play with chairs and blankets like they were actual toys. I don't think my son has ever done that.
ReplyDeleteChairs and blankets could become a world of possibilities! We still sit under a blanket 'tent' and tell stories. Of course, Gramma is a lot slower getting in and out . . . :) Thank you for stopping by!
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