My fondest childhood memories are of being at my grandparents house in the country also.  One that comes to mind is when I was probably 18 months old (amazing I can remember back that far!) .  There was only one spigot for running water in their house, which was in kitchen and under which was kept a galvanized pail where grandma threw her potato parings, dishwater, egg shells, etc.  My grandmother was calling me to come to her.  I was in the kitchen and I kept backing away from her and guess where I ended up sitting!

 

I also remember at Christmas time at home.  We had an electric stove in the living room and my sister and I would get out of bed in the middle of the night and examine all the things "Santa" left for us by the light of that stove.  What fun!

 

LilOleMe (Sandy)

LOL, Peaceful Lady!  I remember the outhouse well...used a pot a night.  We used to take pages of a catalog and crumple it to use for toidy paper.  The outhouse was out in the "chicken yard" and I remember a particularly testy rooster.  He attacked me one day - first one was on top and then the other.  My grandpa took his gun out and....no more rooster!  My grandparents did get indoor plumbing when I was in senior high school.

 

LilOleMe

Nice thread Peaceful - my fondest memory is with my dad when I was about seven years old.  He seldom spent much time with us kids at all, let alone spend time alone with any one of us.  But on this day he decided he would ice skate with just me over around the island and back on the lake we lived on (thinking back it was probably about a mile round trip).  He held my hand and struggled right along with me and laughed and talked with me.  I was so in awe of that time with him and still feel like I did on that very day.  I'll never forget it.

Crap now I'm crying and sittin here at work.  I'm gonna miss my dad so much, I wish he wasn't so sick.

I'm sorry to hear that Peaceful.  Dad wasn't abusive or anything he just did his thing out in the garage away from all of us - that's if he wasn't working.  But he is a good man.  He loves us kids and his grandchildren and would do anything for us.  He can be opinionated and obstinate (?sp) - a grumpy old man.  But I love him.

 

Right now he's fighting colon cancer, heart and lung disease.  He has only one of the three main veins to his heart that is open and that's only 25%.  The others are completely closed.  His cancer is terminal.  Because of his cancer they can't treat his heart.  So it's just a day to day thing for him.

Cindylouhoo3,

 

I am sooo sorry to hear that your Dad is so ill...cherish those good days you've had with him.

 

I am not at all close to my Dad (nor was I very close to my Mom either, for that matter.)  My grandparents were closer for me.  My parents divorced when my sister and I were 10 and both got re-married.  My Dad and Stepmom proceeded to have five boys and my Dad kinda forgot about us girls...

 

LilOleMe (Sandy)

Oh Sandy......do ya think maybe we married the men we did to work out our incomplete relationships with our fathers?? 

snicker snicker.....I'm a psycology freak (just can't spell it). 

Cindylouhoo3,

 

I have often wondered that....though I have been married more than once to different kinds of men...one was definitely a "father" type though, put me on an allowance, wanted to tell me what to do, etc.  It's a possibility...

 

LilOleMe (Sandy)

cindylou,  I'm so sorry to hear your Dad is sick.  God bless.