52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Advice

My advice for future generations who may be researching my family begins with this:

DO NOT RESEARCH "MASCOT".  It is not our name.  It's a step name and a made-up one at that.    My children are the first ever born "MASCOT" children.  So don't waste your time, young Mascot generations to come.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Holiday Events

Again, I'm going to defer to my Advent Calendar post, as it's my own made-up activity and I love it:

http://mmgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/12/advent-calendar-december-9-grab-bag.html

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Gifts

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History:  Gifts

To reference gifts, I am going to defer to my Advent Calendar post on this subject.

Holiday Gifts.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Historical Events

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History:  Historical Events

The first real historical event that I remember was Watergate.  I had no clue what it was but tried to hard to understand.  A hotel.  Named “Watergate”.  Did it have a mote?  Was there a true gate of water around it?  The President lied.  From what I’d heard Dad saying, all politicians lie, so why was this part important?  Because he got caught?  None of this logic worked on me.

Next up that I really remember were the yellow ribbons tied everywhere for the Iran hostages.  I also didn’t understand that.  Why did they have hostages?  What was the point?  And Reagan getting shot.  He was fine.  Why was it a big deal?

Then there was the earthquake, 9/11,  and all the things since.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Thanksgiving

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History:  Thanksgiving

Growing up, our Thanksgiving table featured most of the same things that mine now does.  Turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans.  The changes are that I don’t make the ambrosia salad like my aunt did.  My mother-in-law makes it for our get togethers and so I don’t even try making it.  I don’t like the cranberry sauce shaped like the can, so I make my own, but other than that, right down to the olives on the fingertips, I like to mirror the Thanksgivings of my childhood.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Teachers

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History:  Teachers

Just a month or two ago, I wrote to a great teacher.  I googled him, as I realized I never really know how awesome of a teacher he was at the time.  He taught by osmosis and made learning just happen.  I learned more in his science classes (6^th and 7^th grade) than in any other class my whole life.  He was amazing.

And I didn’t even know it at the time.  I just thought it was easy.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Favorite School Subject

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History:  Favorite School Subject

In high school, I enjoyed the humanities- family life, politics, that sort of class.  I was best at classes where I was allowed to argue a point.  In college, I began as a psychology major, but took a social psychology class and loved it so much that I decided to double major in psychology and sociology.  Then I took a class in criminal justice and so I made that my minor.  All classes to do with those three things were my favorites in college.  (p.s. now my day job has not one tiny thing to do with any of that.  At all)

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Worst School Subject

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History:  Worst School Subject

Well, that would be current events.  Failing that (figuratively), physics was not a particularly strong suit.  I called it, “All Word Problems All the Time” and rather than being an honors class like most of other high school classes, I dropped down to the “B” group where they used crayons and spelled everything out for me.  I still got only a B.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Elementary School

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History:  Elementary School

I went to a few elementary schools.  From K-3 I went to a very small, very close-knit school.  I returned there for junior high, so when I think of elementary school, this is who I think of.  We had a reunion on my 40^th birthday and it was amazing to see them all again.  With the help of Facebook, I feel almost as close to them now as I did then.

For 4^th grade, I split the year between a farm school where I was the rare English speaker to a two-room schoolhouse in Platina, California.  My class had 12 children and we ranged from 2^nd to 8^th grade…

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: High School

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History:  High School

High school was a unique situation for me.  Pretty much after my freshman year, I was only there for classes.   I was a good student, but few of my friends went to school and so I was there to learn and then left.  My usual schedule was to get done with school around 3pm.  I’d then go to work at Lockheed from 3-6.  At 6, I’d head to a friend’s and they’d feed me before we would head to our hangout in downtown Palo Alto. My home was miles from there, which is why I didn’t spend much time at home. 

We would “hang out” with a big crowd of punk rock kids and at some point, head to Lyon’s (a 24-hour Denny’s-like restaurant) where I’d do my homework and write my papers.  I’d head to a friend’s house to sleep at about 3 or 4am and get a couple hours in before school started.   

So high school was really a place of learning.  I got a good education there, but I didn’t do all the sports/cheerleading/games, etc that most kids do.  No prom for me!  Although I did graduate early and got straight As (except for that stupid physics class...).

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Politics

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History:  Politics

Neither of my parents were particularly political growing up, but they did teach me to believe what I want to and to stand by it.  And to do my research.  

When I was sixteen, my dad voted by mail.  He told me that if I researched every ballot issue and presented my vote to him with clear reasoning, he would vote how I wanted.  I researched for weeks, even going to meet congressional candidates and current state representatives.  I gave my views to Dad at the kitchen table (where all important family business goes down).  He argued/questioned me on a few, but all in all agreed with my conclusions and, as far as I know, voted my way.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Fall

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History:  Fall

Growing up in California, “Fall” is a bit of a misnomer, as we don’t really have “seasons”.  What fall represented for me was going back to school, which rather than horror, prompted excitement.  It was  a new beginning with new school supplied, new clothes and a new attitude.  Everything that was wrong last year would be right.  It was a do-over.  A fresh slate.  And I loved it.

As adults, we don’t really have this.  We don’t start a new job each year (or at least *I* don’t- been here for 16 now!) and we don’t get all new clothes and binders and pens and Peachey folders annually, either.  Best we can do is have children and wonder why they don’t get as excited about a new pencil holder as we do.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Nicknames

I’ve had many nicknames through my life, but my longest running was given to me by my dad:  Shorty.  I don’t know where it came from, but I know that to this day, I can count on being Shorty when I talk to Dad. 

Marc has always called me “Moo” so that would be my second longest-running nickname.  And the reason for the cow in his pocket at our wedding…

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Smells

When I think of childhood smells, all my mind stops at is the smell of Dad’s baking sourdough bread.  He had a starter going for months, if not years, and he’d bake the bread in our wood-burning stove and the smell of that delicious bread would permeate the whole house.

I made sourdough starter.  It promptly turned a scary black and smelled like death itself.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Wedding

Some girls dream about their wedding day, planning all the details and perfecting it in their minds.

I was not that girl.

Within five minutes of meeting Marc, at the grand ol’ age of 17, I knew that I would be with him forever.  A paper signed by the State wouldn’t make me feel any differently.  We moved in together nearly right away and after three years, we found ourselves getting married.  Neither remembers proposing, but suddenly we were engaged.  And Marc wanted a wedding (rather than my idea of running away to Vegas), I agreed, and then a wedding was being planned.  For the most part, we let our moms do whatever they wanted. 

Our ceremony was at Grace Lutheran Church in Palo Alto, California, despite us not being Lutheran (the church was so pretty…).  We had to go to a pre-marriage class where Teri Garr portrayed a wife in scenes showing the right and wrong ways to hash things out.  We hated the classes, but loved the Teri Garr part.  Can't find it on YouTube, though.

Our reception was in my friend’s parents’ house and yard.  It was catered and there were flowers, but I really have no serious recollection of any details of any of the day.  I remember no one went into the pool.  I remember that Marc had a plastic cow in his pocket at the altar.  I remember family and friends and The Guy.  You know, the guy your friend is dating and brings to your wedding and he’s in all the pictures but they break up a week after your wedding?  That guy.

I also remember my dress.  I refused to spend a lot of money and I refused to wear something foo-foo-ey.  I wanted cheap, pretty, and simple.  Yeah… good luck with that.  I went to twenty seven billion bridal shops and perused a jillion magazines and found nothing I even remotely liked.  My friend was with me one disappointing day and I was so annoyed and discouraged that we decided to go to Nordstrom (they had a bridal department at the time).  We thought it would be a hoot to check out their hideous, hideously expensive dresses.  There was one that was over $10,000 and so elaborate and awful.  Our giggles began.  We went through the racks laughing out loud at them.  Then we came to one and I said, “Hey, I actually like this one!  It’s simple but elegant and different.”  Then I laughed to find out how much.  “TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS?!?!” I shouted.

The invisible sales woman who we’d banished so that we could laugh appeared and said, “No, it’s $250.”  And so I bought it.

We’ve now been married for 23 years, three months and 6 days.  We have two awesome children, two cats, a dog and the dress is somewhere in the garage.   

Guess what decade this was... and we thought we were so cool...

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Earlies Memory

My very earliest memory is a very odd thing to remember.  But I do remember… I was standing up holding the side of my crib looking over the side at my dad, who was peek-a-booking with me from the floor under the crib.    The side of my crib came loose and fell down and I tumbled onto Dad.