More Memories of Novato

The nearly five years we spent in Novato holds many special memories for me. Here are a few that come to mind.

• Watching the twins grow up. Twins have a totally different way of maturing than a single child. It was fascinating to watch. They were best friends and never needed any one else to play with. They developed their own language which only they could understand, and communicated with others when necessary by pointing and sign language. I learned a little of their language, but others couldn't understand a word they said. This was a problem when they were nearing kindergarten age and we wondered if we should hold them back.
• The trauma of disposing of Jimmy's (what we called Jim Jr.) "blanky". Jim loved his blanky, especially the silk binding. He would stuff the whole corner of it in his mouth and chew on it. I had to keep replacing the binding because it would become so stinky and worn. The blanket became smaller and smaller as I kept cutting it down to replace the worn part. One night when we were barbecuing with charcoal in the back yard Jim was standing there watching, blanket in hand. Daddy said to him as he took the blanket from his trusting hands, " I wonder what would happen if we put your blanket on these pretty red coals. Little Jim looked on with horror as his precious treasure go up in flames. No more "blanky".

• Jimmy deciding he wanted to find out what smoking a cigarette was like. Dad obliged by bringing home a pack of cigarettes, lighting it up for him, and watching him put it in his mouth. It was when Mom told him to suck in like using a straw that we saw the reaction that cracked us up. I'll never forget that look on his face as he choked, turned green (almost) and began running around the house ... the outside of the house. He made several round trips before he finally stopped. I don't think Jim ever tried smoking again.

• It was here that we received the news of President John Kennedy's assassination. I remember I was shopping for Christmas, and had just purchased a large stuffed bear that came with a little cub in its' paws. I just knew Deborah would love it. Then the news came over the loud speaker of the store. It's funny what we remember when traumatic things occur in life.
• Adding on to our small church building, the work being done by members of the ward. Jim spent many hours up on the roof of that building. But it was so nice now to have a real chapel with permanent benches, and a separate cultural hall.

• Putting on an original children's Christmas play based on the the story of "The Little Drummer Boy". I talked my my friend, Betty Schmidt, who was a gifted writer to use her skills to come up with this cute play for the Primary to perform for the ward Christmas Party. It has since been performed by several other Primarys in other stakes. I still have a copy of that play.

• Special friends, Wanda Dunn, Lorna Burdette, Irene Laycock, and Betty Schmidt.

• Jimmy and Shelly starting kindergarten even though no one could understand them. We took them to a specialist to make sure they didn't have a learning disability that coused their speech problem. We were assured that as soon as they were split up by placing them in different classes, and with some speech therapy, they would do just fine. It only took several months of therapy and being around other children and they were talking like any other five-year-old.

• Lots of fun church activities.

• Some "not so fun" Officer's Club parties that we were obligated to attend. We once won a prize for the couple that seemed to be having the most fun. Actually we were the only ones who weren't stoned ... and we were great actors. Our prize? ... bottle of liquor.

• Making one of the most important family decisions of our lives - committing to having regular Family Home Evenings. We were motivated by the words of a prophet which were in the introduction to the new Family Home Evening Manual we received. These words were: "If fathers and mothers will faithfully discharge the responsibility of Family Home Evening, not one in a hundred of your family would ever go astray." I liked those odds, I liked that assurance, and I was willing to do my part receive that promised blessing. FHE became, from that time on, a top priority in our lives.
• Being named Novato's "Mother of the Year" in 1966.

• Being blessed with our "miracle" baby, Jon, that same year. More about this miracle and special blessing in my next blog.