Joyful Musings

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On Being 10 And Heading To Maine in the Back of a Blue Ford Pickup. What a Ride

Joyful Musings and Family Memories: Things were different in 1973. Summer vacations might include a hitchhiker coming along at the last minute and discovering the thrill of some old-fashioned “moral vandalism.”

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3 Moms and 24 Kids. What Was It Like In Your Brood?

Joyful Musings: In the photo above, the woman fourth from the right is my mom Nancy; she smiles between her two good friends, Mrs. Ryan and Mrs. Donnellan. Between them they had 24 children – my mother with the smallest brood of only six.

Joyful Musings

Growing Up One of Many, What’s Your Story?

Joyful Musings: Tell Susan your tale of growing up with too many siblings. Actually one could be too many. Let’s hear it.

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Icebergs and Other Things To Never Tell Your Mother

My most recent adventure has been to aisle 5 of Market Basket.  I believe the closest I’ll get to an iceberg are the mounds created by the snow plows. 

Lost Friends, Popcorn, And Christmas Connections

I laughed with my brother over our connection of attendance at thousands of wakes, remembering how going to a wake was a night out with one or both parents, kneeling in front of a corpse a major part of our childhood.

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My Friend Who Wouldn’t Say Yes To The Green Awning Dress

Eileen was the cool kid who grew up across the street on Florentine Gardens in Springfield, Massachusetts.  I’d known Eileen long enough to remember her family dog Pierre roaming the neighborhood.