Tuesday, June 08, 2004
FLY AWAY FLY AWAY LITTLE BLUEBIRDS......
Bluebirds and eventually the Camp Fire program was a big part of Becky’s grade school experience as Cub’s and Scouting had been with George. I finished Cubbing the Spring before so the fall of 1961 I became the leader for the girls. I learned a lot in those years. I took them from 2nd grade through the 6th. I started with 15-girls and ended up with the same ones. When it was time for the junior high program I bowed out and another mother took the group. Sadly, it didn’t hold together and the girls didn’t finish all the way. However I look back on those years with pleasure because I know what advantages the girls had to grow and mature into bright, young women.
We ran the gamut during our time together. We learned homey things, personal things and outdoor things. We did it all….from camping to taking a course on modeling and manners. We had a native American in our group whose mother arranged for two children to come in full costume of their tribe and dance for us. Their costumes were not only beautiful but full of folklore and tradition. We marched in the Doll Parade in Mission, KS., went to summer camp every year and had programs for our moms to participate in their projects.
I’m sure one event will never be forgotten by the girls. Right before going home time I always had a spirited game so they could leave on a high note. This one day we were playing London Bridges in the garage because of cold weather. The girls insisted I play too so to be a good sport I went along with their fun. Of course I was caught and they began singing, “take the keys and lock her up, lock her up…” as they swung me back and forth in their locked hands. I got the silly (and disastrous) idea to break through their hold the next time they pushed me backwards…..I gave a hearty thrust and their hands broke away while I went sprawling, losing my balance. My head hit the concrete floor of the garage and I saw stars and then blackness for a moment.
The poor girls were frightened and came running to see if I was all right. My head had snapped backwards in falling and for a time I could only lay there afraid to reach with my hand to see if my head was OK. The way it cracked when it hit I feared major damage. When things cleared up and my wits were about me I sat up slowly and got to my feet. I assured them I was fine and not to worry….it was my own silliness that caused it. They left the meeting much relieved……..end of the story….I had a whiplash and pulled everything loose down the front of my chest. I had a king-sized goose-egg on the back of my head which I iced down. It was one of those “Kodak moments” that you just never forget…..and in the ensuing years my neck reminds me at times just how silly I can be when I take a notion.
The other frightening thing was almost a natural disaster. We had tornado warnings all day in our part of Kansas and because the sky looked so ominous I was in the garage looking towards the street the girls would be coming on from school. Suddenly, as I watched, a long black cloud broke in the center and appeared like two waterfalls facing each other pouring downward, then lay over in the sky forming a funnel cloud. It eased over on the horizon and appeared to be right behind the school building. I was frightened out of my wits thinking it might overtake the girls before they could get to our house. My fears were heightened by the fact they were late but the school kept them in, having been made aware of the danger. They arrived safe and we had a lot of discussion about the first tornado any of us had ever seen. Unfortunately, the tornado did hit a school five miles south of where we were but thankfully the students had been sent home before it hit.
John was the unofficial mascot of the Bluebirds. He liked to hang around and see what we were doing and participate if it was something he could do. The girls accepted him as part of the meeting; many of them had little brothers at home. One day I had just put my uniform on and was waiting for the girls to come. I was sitting in a chair in the living room when John walked by. I pulled him over to me and sat him on my lap. To my surprise he jumped off quickly like he’d been shot. I laughed and said, “What’s the matter, John, are you getting too big to sit on mama’s lap any more?” and he said, “No….but I don’t want the girls to see me.” It was a clue to me that my little Johnny boy was beginning to pull away from mama.
That day eventually comes with each child and though we prepare them for it I don’t think we mom’s are ever ready for it. We are like generals who constantly prepare their troops for war and inwardly hope they never have to go…….but go they will and the old general sadly knows what lies over the next hill….
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
We ran the gamut during our time together. We learned homey things, personal things and outdoor things. We did it all….from camping to taking a course on modeling and manners. We had a native American in our group whose mother arranged for two children to come in full costume of their tribe and dance for us. Their costumes were not only beautiful but full of folklore and tradition. We marched in the Doll Parade in Mission, KS., went to summer camp every year and had programs for our moms to participate in their projects.
I’m sure one event will never be forgotten by the girls. Right before going home time I always had a spirited game so they could leave on a high note. This one day we were playing London Bridges in the garage because of cold weather. The girls insisted I play too so to be a good sport I went along with their fun. Of course I was caught and they began singing, “take the keys and lock her up, lock her up…” as they swung me back and forth in their locked hands. I got the silly (and disastrous) idea to break through their hold the next time they pushed me backwards…..I gave a hearty thrust and their hands broke away while I went sprawling, losing my balance. My head hit the concrete floor of the garage and I saw stars and then blackness for a moment.
The poor girls were frightened and came running to see if I was all right. My head had snapped backwards in falling and for a time I could only lay there afraid to reach with my hand to see if my head was OK. The way it cracked when it hit I feared major damage. When things cleared up and my wits were about me I sat up slowly and got to my feet. I assured them I was fine and not to worry….it was my own silliness that caused it. They left the meeting much relieved……..end of the story….I had a whiplash and pulled everything loose down the front of my chest. I had a king-sized goose-egg on the back of my head which I iced down. It was one of those “Kodak moments” that you just never forget…..and in the ensuing years my neck reminds me at times just how silly I can be when I take a notion.
The other frightening thing was almost a natural disaster. We had tornado warnings all day in our part of Kansas and because the sky looked so ominous I was in the garage looking towards the street the girls would be coming on from school. Suddenly, as I watched, a long black cloud broke in the center and appeared like two waterfalls facing each other pouring downward, then lay over in the sky forming a funnel cloud. It eased over on the horizon and appeared to be right behind the school building. I was frightened out of my wits thinking it might overtake the girls before they could get to our house. My fears were heightened by the fact they were late but the school kept them in, having been made aware of the danger. They arrived safe and we had a lot of discussion about the first tornado any of us had ever seen. Unfortunately, the tornado did hit a school five miles south of where we were but thankfully the students had been sent home before it hit.
John was the unofficial mascot of the Bluebirds. He liked to hang around and see what we were doing and participate if it was something he could do. The girls accepted him as part of the meeting; many of them had little brothers at home. One day I had just put my uniform on and was waiting for the girls to come. I was sitting in a chair in the living room when John walked by. I pulled him over to me and sat him on my lap. To my surprise he jumped off quickly like he’d been shot. I laughed and said, “What’s the matter, John, are you getting too big to sit on mama’s lap any more?” and he said, “No….but I don’t want the girls to see me.” It was a clue to me that my little Johnny boy was beginning to pull away from mama.
That day eventually comes with each child and though we prepare them for it I don’t think we mom’s are ever ready for it. We are like generals who constantly prepare their troops for war and inwardly hope they never have to go…….but go they will and the old general sadly knows what lies over the next hill….
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
