reflections ~ 50 years of marriage ~

The Many Places We have Called Home ~ Part I continued & Part II

5. Continued  – not sure what happened to the rest of # 5 – so let me continue
       1.  As I mentioned previously, we moved in with my mom – and why we moved in with her, my stepdad and my sister.  The time after the twins were born and Royce dying at times is very blurred and other times as clear as it happened yesterday.  While living with my mom, we buried Royce, were blessed that Ron’s dad was able to fly from Alaska and be with us ~ that meant a lot to Ron, we eagerly awaited the time for Jamie to be released from the hospital and get ready for our move to The Netherlands.
       2.  One of the funniest experiences was when the movers arrived at my mom’s house to load our furnishings and personal belongings.  The movers went to pick up a box and one of them yelled – who packed this box?  And Ron replied “my wife.”  The guy laughingly said “don’t let her pack anything else – somebody’s going to get a hernia!!!”  It was a box of books, 24″ square and the guy said it probably weighed 75 lbs!!
      3.  Jamie came home when he was 3 weeks old.  He only weighed 4 obs 7oz when he was released.  The neontologist said they usually don’t release babies till they weigh 5 lbs but he wanted us to have time with Jamie at home as we prepared to make a major move…Jamie was on a 3 hr mandatory feed schedule EXCEPT for his 3am feeding ~ what feeding did he not sleep through ~ his 3am feeding!!!
       4.  One day before leaving Las Vegas we went to the casino where my mom and stepdad worked “The Silver Nugget.”  We knew almost everyone who worked there.  When we walked in Ron decided to play some blackjack.  I was standing behind him, holding Jamie and Jack one of the security guards came up to me and said “Alice I know you are not old enough to be in here but for sure the baby can’t be ~ take him to hi Grandma!!  My mom, a hostess, seated people and showing Jamie off to everyone.  I loved to see her smile when she was holding Jamie.

Part II Continued….

6. In October and November 1977 we travelled to Washington State and then onto Camp New Amsterdam in Soest, The Netherlands. During that time we visited with family and friends from Nevada, California, Oregon and landed in Blaine, WA.  Jamie and I stayed with Ron’s parents while Ron went ahead to the Netherlands.
   1. One of Ron’s most favorite memories during that time was traveling with his dad, Pete, from Blaine to New York where he shipped our truck to The Netherlands. They took eight days and met many friends and family. 
   2. Ron’s memories of that trip include meeting a lady at Peterson Field while getting gas – after chatting for a few minutes they realized that her husband who had travelled to Blaine with his Uncle Kenny had had dinner at Pete & Anne’s home. As well as racing to stay ahead of a snow storm that followed them from Colorado to Ohio leaving the storm in Pennsylvania and continuing to New York.
   3. My memories include telling Ron’s brother, John, about a cute little bunny I saw out the bedroom window and then shortly hearing John come into the house telling his mom he cleaned and skinned the rabbit so she could make rabbit stew! Jamie sleeping in a doll crib in the closet so Ron’s sister, Kathy couldn’t hear him cry ~ I would close the door leaving it open with a crack of about 5”.  And seeing my first real snow fall on November 2, 1977 as Ron and his dad drove out of the driveway.

7. & 8 While we were in the Netherlands we lived in two places.  First a beautiful hotel with three floors who catered to the military personnel and their families as they transitioned to and from The Netherlands and then a 3-story duplex in Woudenberg, Netherlands.
   1. So many memories of our time in the hotel:
      1. Having nicknames of the different families like The Circus – they had 5 littles under the age of 5!
      2. Eating family style with strangers who became good friends, learned what happens when you feed a baby beets and green beans (on different days) and learning about the area we were living in: big trash night, Yost (the owner of the hotel) showing us where to buy affordable furniture and putting babies outside, bundled up in their carriages on cold, clear, brisk days while this momma feared Jamie was going to catch the worlds worst cold.
   2. We made many memories living on the economy:
      1. We had a bus come by twice a week that carried groceries and everything but the kitchen sink so you didn’t have to go far to get what you needed to make for dinner
      2. If you wanted ice in your beverages you had to ask for them, being specific about how many you wanted.
      3. That the person moving into the neighborhood bought plants/gifts and introduced yourself to the neighbors.
      4. Learning about Sinterclaus & Black Pete on December 6^th and how the children put their shoes outside the door and found gifts in them depending on if they had been bad or good.
      5. That you don’t need a big refrigerator, you just use outside to keep the beer cold.

9. In January 1979 we made an emergency move to Tacoma, WA and McChord AFB so that we could be close to Ron’s parents as his dad battled cancer. Our first place was a motel room for 8 weeks while we waited for our belongings to make the trip from the Netherlands to Tacoma
   1. During our travels from November to January as we transitioned to McChord Jamie had the first of many seizures. We found out they were called Febrile Seizures.  It was a very scary time as we figured out what medication he needed and what we were supposed to do when he had a seizure.  We thank Poppa God that Jamie out grew his seizures when he was 3 ½ years old.
   2. We then moved into a two bedroom apartment just outside the front gate of McChord.
   3. We found out baby #4 was on the way.
10. Two weeks before Brandon made his appearance, we moved into Base Housing at McChord AFB. It was nice to have neighbors who understood the life of a military family.
    1. So many memories making new friends, finding a new church home and how many miles we could drive on a weekend visiting Ron’s parents in NW Washington and driving to Yacats, OR to help a friend out.
    2. One of my most special memories was when my Aunt Joan and my Grandpa George came to Washington to visit. We went to the top of the Space Needle for dinner, took lots of family pictures and just hung out together.