We test the limits

I think I may have written about the winter we got a plethora of snow in Hamilton.

My sister and I were talking about it the other day. The two of us remembered different things about that winter. I remember they canceled 4H Snow Camp for my older sister, the never ending snow that sometimes obliterated the view of the row of pine trees behind the pasture and sitting at the kitchen table each morning, listening to the list of school cancellations on WHTC: "All Hamilton Schools will be closed today. All Hamilton schools will be closed."

My sister remembers two weeks of no school and rescheduling exams. She also remembers a phone call from our father. . ."Do you know where your Mother is?"

"I guess she's in the house somewhere, Dad."

"No, she's right here in my office. She walked here to get away from you girls. NOW BEHAVE."

Opps. I guess everyone has their limits. And when Dad cleared his throat or gave a command, we generally gave him our full attention. Apparently he was not pleased with our behavior.

Although my sisters and I are pretty close now, it wasn't always that way. Mom and Dad basically had two families. My two older sisters are close together in age and then there is an eight year gap and my younger sister and I came along in close succession. The older girls shared a bedroom and my younger sister and I shared a bedroom.  It stands to reason we were closer to the sister who was closer in age. But four snow-bound girls can entertain each other only so long and then resort to probably what was pretty obnoxious behavior -- testing the limits of even the most sainted person.

Mom and Dad were the traditional family of their generation. Dad went to work and Mom stayed home and took care of the house and kids. Dad managed a dog food company. There were a few years when Mom worked for Dad in the lab testing dog food (for the uninformed, dog food batches are tested hourly for fat and protein content -- among other things). But for the most part Mom was a stay-at-home Mom.

But that's not to say Mom spent her time in the house cooking, cleaning and sewing. Mom was pretty involved in the community. She was a 4H community leader -- she and a friend started the Riverview 4H Club in Hamilton --  she served on a variety of committees with the church, was active in that conservative political party, served on the county board of social services and worked on a variety of committees at the high school.

Once Dad retired they both became active volunteers. I always thought volunteering was something Mom did because it was . . . well . . . something she did. But apparently they both believed in giving back to the community. In fact, in their much later years they were extremely active in the churches in Glenn and, after they moved, Grand Haven.

And in some small way I'm glad they did that. Otherwise I would have to believe all that volunteering Mom did when we were young was because we had pushed the limits a little to much and she couldn't spend all her time hiding out in Dad's office.