To my sisters

My children have spend the last several days playing with a train they built out of boxes. Lizzy insists that it is a cargo train but Sam thinks it's a passenger train. They take turns being the conductor and the train has had stops in almost every room. This has got me thinking about my childhood.

Us at Halloween. From left to right: Katie, Mary, Amy, Becca.

I am one of 5 girls. We are all about 15 months apart. We had such fun! I don't think my memory is ever that good but I do remember a few things. Let me try to relay my favorites.

My mom taught us how to crochet a chain and we would each try to make it so long that it went around the entire house! My mother must have loved to have us occupied for such a long time. Every Christmas Santa would come and visit us! We never went to the mall to see him. My father owned a Santa suit and every year he would have to work late one night and then my mom would tell us to expect Santa that night. We would stare outside the window (once, I saw his sleigh and reindeer!) Then a knock would come at the door and 5 excited girls would sit on his lap and ask for something usually rather simple for Christmas. Thank you to my sisters Traci and Katie for never telling me that Santa wasn't real, I found out when I was older than most and I found out at school. Christmas at my house was always simple, but it never felt that way.

Me with Santa/Dad.

We played lots of games at my house. Not the ones on computers or video game systems but the 'old fashioned' kind. We played tag for hours in our front yard using the bird feeder as base. We loved taking one of our twin beds and riding it down the stairs, this must have been as much fun as a roller coaster, we were sure of it. Something else we did that kept us entertained for longer than one would suppose is we would take small mirrors and put them under our eyes. We were magically walking on the celling! If you've never tried this, you should. We would each claim our own celling room and then visit the others in their rooms.

Us playing tag in the front yard.

There was so much else that we did. Spending time picking apples, coring them and making applesauce with our mother. Dressing up in prom dresses and taking 'glamor' shots in the hallway. Creating secret clubs and having our very own spy names. There was so much that 5 girls could do! I love this memory of my sister Traci (the oldest) convincing us that if we stuck our middle finger down at the ground then we were telling Satan that we hated him. We STOMPED around the yard with our middle fingers down at the ground shouting things at the devil. This may sound kinda funny, but to me it's the proof of what an influence the oldest child can be. And she was always good to us.

Mary's 'glamor' shot.

Here we are tickling Traci.

I love watching the memories my children are creating. I love to watch the hours they spend somersaulting on my bed, "ready, set, go!" And teaching them to disco dance (Sam is the funniest at this.) Yes, I do try to re-create some of my memories here in my home. Last week Lizzy and I crocheted a chain to go around our house. We still slide down the stairs using a mattress and walk on the ceiling using a mirror. However there are just some things only 5 sisters can do. Like build pyramids and make up our own plays. So, thanks to my sisters, thanks for the fun childhood.