Sunday, May 11, 2014

It's impossible to make out when your mom is tossing clothespins at you

My mom was overprotective. There I said it! I couldn't have a large bouncy ball because it might roll in the street. A bike? Out of the question. She had to know where I was every minute of every day when I was a kid. If I was next door she would call me and tell me I had to go to the store or do a chore. It was my norm.

It got to be a real pain when I became a teenager. I was 15 when I met my first husband. We were kids who lived a couple houses apart. I was friends with his sister. He'd walk up the block and sit out front on the stoop, and we'd talk.

My family lived upstairs in a two family flat. There was a closed in sun porch at the back of the house. The quarter sized hole in the floor must have been a drain hole or where someone once had a wire. It was the perfect size for a clothespin to fit through. When we would sit out front, Mom would peek out the window and check up on me below. When we moved to the back stoop of the house, she would call my  name periodically to make sure I was still there. When I didn't answer she would drop a clothespin down, narrowly missing us. Stealing a kiss? Necking? No way. We were dodging projectiles. Now I can laugh about it.

Hope you all had a happy Mother's Day.

17 comments:

Karen Lange said...

Every mom's got her own parenting style, right? Some are just a little more quirky than others I suppose. :) Happy Mother's Day!

Pat Wahler said...

Hope you had a great Mother's Day, Linda!

Pat
Critter Alley

Sioux Roslawski said...

Linda-This is yet another story that proves that your mom was a character...and a concerned mother.

I hope your day was delightful and drama-free. (How's the baby-alert going?)

jabblog said...

Letting go is the hardest thing for a mother . . .

Anonymous said...

Nice to read about your sweet memories. I too do the same thing with my kid. And then i realized i need to leave them independent to do things. i did and found many changes in them!

River said...

So different from my mum, who sent us outside to play, anywhere we wanted, as long as we didn't cross the street or leave the block. And we had to be home for meals. That was when we were all still small. After she left I roamed the town...
I'm laughing at the clothespins, I guess she was determined you weren't going to be a teenage mum or something.

Shelly said...

Ha! Now that is one way to keep your kids on their toes~

Bookie said...

Must have been infuriating, but she did mean well!!!

Susan said...

Oh Linda,that was funny. Your Mom was very creative! Ha! Susan

Beth M. Wood said...

Very clever! I "remember" to put in a load of laundry (the laundry room is next to the family room where my kids hang out with friends) at odd times of night...

Lynn said...

How funny. I'd imagine some kids now wouldn't know what a clothespin is!

Val said...

Let's give her the benefit of the doubt. Was there an old Miracle Whip jar sitting around? Maybe your mom was just practicing to win the clothespin drop at all the neighborhood birthday parties.

Pearl said...

It IS funny now. :-) But I'm sure it wasn't when all you wanted was for the lovely boy from down the street to kiss you!

Pearl

Lisa Ricard Claro said...

That's one creative mom! I'd be curious to hear about the creative ways you learned to circumvent her efforts. ;)

Susan said...

p.s. Linda, I wanted to thank you for your kind words about my Honey Cat dying. Thank you for your thoughtfulness. Susan

Connie said...

Hahaha! What a cute story. :)

Susan Sundwall said...

You're a stitch! But are you a protective mom? Just askin' and grinnin'.