As the fifth child in a home where my mother and I were outnumbered by males, I wore two hats - the daughter my mother had tried many years for and the little sister to be tormented and pestered. My role as daughter was sweet because mom would dress me up, curl my hair and be my best friend. The other role, however, was never pleasant and something I have tried to block from my memories. I never had the protective big brothers, instead, I had brothers who resented my being mother's favorite, although that was not true and only perceived by their jealousy. My second oldest brother, Norman, was really mom's favorite.
Being the fifth child means that the parents and grandparents have doted on the boys until they are spent and I was just another in a long line of children to be dealt with. There were fewer and fewer childhood photos as the children continued to come and I have possibly a dozen photos of myself as a child. I am assuming it is because my parents tired of taking photos. Or maybe it was because the boys were prettier babies than I. No matter because nothing can be done about life's little inequalities. None of my brothers are that handsome in their old age so their looks, like mine, were fleeting.
As a young teen I added a hat as a Volunteen. We volunteered at nursing homes and hospitals at least every Friday afternoon and usually on Sundays. There wasn't as much to do when we were in our early teens so community service was a way to do something good and to help decide what we wanted to be when we grew up. Being born in the early 50's, the "girl" occupations still consisted primarily of nursing, teaching and secretarial work, just until you found the right guy and settled down. To this day I have a needle phobia so nursing was out. I wasn't a great student and have never been able to explain things to others well so teaching was out. However, watching Perry Mason with my parents, I decided that Della Street had the job I wanted. Legal Secretary... It sounded much more important than just secretary. I decided that would be the next hat I would wear.
Over the years I acquired more hats and they each have stories. More will come in later postings.
Being the fifth child means that the parents and grandparents have doted on the boys until they are spent and I was just another in a long line of children to be dealt with. There were fewer and fewer childhood photos as the children continued to come and I have possibly a dozen photos of myself as a child. I am assuming it is because my parents tired of taking photos. Or maybe it was because the boys were prettier babies than I. No matter because nothing can be done about life's little inequalities. None of my brothers are that handsome in their old age so their looks, like mine, were fleeting.
As a young teen I added a hat as a Volunteen. We volunteered at nursing homes and hospitals at least every Friday afternoon and usually on Sundays. There wasn't as much to do when we were in our early teens so community service was a way to do something good and to help decide what we wanted to be when we grew up. Being born in the early 50's, the "girl" occupations still consisted primarily of nursing, teaching and secretarial work, just until you found the right guy and settled down. To this day I have a needle phobia so nursing was out. I wasn't a great student and have never been able to explain things to others well so teaching was out. However, watching Perry Mason with my parents, I decided that Della Street had the job I wanted. Legal Secretary... It sounded much more important than just secretary. I decided that would be the next hat I would wear.
Over the years I acquired more hats and they each have stories. More will come in later postings.
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