Monday, February 20, 2012

30 in 30

So I will be 30 in 30 days. It's been a fun time to look back and, over the next 30 days, I'm going to tell some stories and reflect on some of the lessons I've learned so far! I don't expect to impart any wisdom because I realize most of those reading this are far wiser than I, but it's nice for me to see the life lessons I've learned and to just remember.

One of my fondest memories as a child was going to my Grandma and Grandpa Wood's house. They had such a fun house and they still had kids living at home when I was really little (my dad is second oldest of 10 children so his younger siblings were still at home when I was born ). I loved going and seeing my aunt and uncles still living there. They had a huge game room in the basement. They had a trampoline and a garden where I picked fresh strawberries and raspberries. They also had the BEST bubble bath tub in the world! I loved taking bubble baths and we could fit a lot of kids in that tub! The reason I mention this fond memory is because I also learned a great lesson one day while taking a bath. I thought it would be fun to move the jets while they were shooting water and, as a result, the water sprayed all over the entire bathroom. My grandmother has only been angry with me once and this was it. She was so upset with me! And this made me really upset. She didn't yell but the look of disappointment in her eyes told me all I needed to know. I hated making her upset and I realized how much I want to make the people around me happy.

My cousins and me in the the tub!


Two of my childhood friends and me.


I also loved going to Grandma and Grandpa Wood's house because great-grandma Packer lived with them before she died. She was my Grandma's mom and Grandma Packer was the nicest old lady! She also was full of wisdom. I would sit at her knee while she told me stories of growing up on the farm in St. Anthony, Idaho. She would also gives us a box of Cracker Jacks for a special treat. Because of her heart condition, she drank coffee to keep her heart tickin'. Later I learned that she loved her coffee but around us kids she would say, "Ick, this is disgusting!" so we wouldn't think drinking coffee was yummy.


I love thinking about going to Grandma and Grandpa's house and I'm grateful for the good memories!

4 comments:

Dianne said...

Love reading your childhood memories. I'm pretty sure you are the one on the left in the 2nd bath tub pic (looks just like Hayden), but which one are you in the 1st bath tub pic?

Dede said...

Katie this is so great. I'm so glad you have great memories of the time we lived in Idaho. Loved seeing the picture of you in the tub. That was a fun place to be.

Katie Anderson said...

Yes, Dianne I'm the one on the left in the second picture and I'm the 4th from the left in the first picture (guess it makes sense it's harder to tell since I'm with my cousins!)

betsey said...

These are so great! Thanks so much for sharing all these memories, Katie! What a great way to chronicle 30 great years. I love the stories of your sweet grandma and the big tub. What fun!