The pool was wonderful, as usual. As I moved around, I remembered when I was a freshman in high school. I joined a group of swimmers that made pictures in the water - water synchronization. It was called Aqua Sprites. I loved to swim so this fit perfectly with what I thought I wanted to do. We prepared hard for the program coming up. It looked easy, but it wasn't. It took a lot of strength as well as flexibility and gracefulness in the water. My mom came to see the program and I was proud she was in the audience. We started the program, the bleachers were filled and it went really well. During the middle of our routine, I happened to look up into the bleachers and there were two high school boys pointing at me and laughing. At one point, they actually yelled out something about how fat I was and kept laughing. I don't know if my mom heard or saw it, but I did. I was mortified, but kept swimming the routine, even though I wanted to go under the water and never come back up. When we were done, I left there feeling so crushed because instead of watching what I was doing which was incredibly difficult, they were laughing and making fun of me. The ironic thing is that I really wasn't fat - I wasn't thin, but I had a strong body because I was tomboy when I was young. I never forgot that, and it's been over 40 years ago. Some things really stick with you, for good or bad. My mom used to say, "Sticks and stones may break your bones but names will never hurt you." That's simply not true. Sometimes names hurt more than any stick or stone.
I'm learning a lot from the Military Channel! My dad narrates each show and he also reminices about his term in the Marines. He told me tonight that he was thrown in the brig for a week, and I can believe it! He was a wild young man. He told me that he was in a Jewish gang when he was a teenager because the non-Jews would kick them out of the parks where they grew up. They lived in Humboldt Park in Chicago. So, my dad being a rabble-rouser, was part of a gang that fought the non-Jews. He also told me he was expelled from high school because he pushed a teacher out of anger. I think I get my temperament from him.
I was a tomboy growing up and would go every day, rain or shine, to Austin Park, to play basketball, softball, football or ice skating in the winter. I lived at that park. I would go there early in the morning during the summer, and wouldn’t come home until suppertime, and then go back again after supper. I would head up there after school and join in with the other “guys” who were already there. The boys were generally older than I and seemed to tolerate my presence, even though I was a girl. I actually got very good at basketball and used to beat them in games we would play, and they included me as “one of the guys.” I had a “crush” on a couple of the boys at the park, but never let them know it, as it even embarrassed me; and truthfully, it was more fun just to be there and play sports than to have their individual attention as a “girl.”
My dad and I picked up dinner and a little cake and brought it to the nursing home tonight. It's my parents' 62nd anniversary today and I thought we should have a little celebration. My mom looked good tonight. She's on a stronger med and I think that it's helping her move a little easier. Hopefully now she'll be able to help herself get up and do more in physical therapy. I know she wants to come home, but she has to be able to help herself up because I can't lift her. When that happens, I think she'll be ready.
My mom asked me to take a little old lady home from the nursing home before we ate. Her name was Beulah and she was 99 years old. I always find it amazing to talk to someone who is so old. I can't imagine living that long. She must have seen a whole lot in her lifetime. I have a lot of respect for the elderly - they've been through things we can only imagine and I believe they deserve our honor and respect.
Today was a good day - a peaceful day, even remembering about the past. The older I get, the more I think about the past, which I suppose is natural. I think as we get old, like perhaps Beulah, we reflect on our memories more than anything else - we rely on them. That's probably why my dad can remember what happened to him 70 years ago, but has a hard time remembering what he did yesterday.
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