Benefits of Those High School Years.

There were some challenges during those high school years.  However, there were also some benefits.  Starting high school also meant starting early morning seminary (church sponsored religious classes).
Seminary started at 6:00 a.m. which meant getting tired kids up no later than 5:15 a.m., fixing breakfast, (which was often not eaten), packing lunches, and driving them to the church where the classes were held.  Because I had to drive them to school, it was not worth driving home and coming back in forty-five minutes, I just stayed.  For a while there were Institute classes (adult religious classes) held at the same time in the same church, which I would attend.  They didn't last too long because (I think) they were not too well attended, so it wasn't worth an instructor having to get up so early.  So to make use of the time I began walking and listening to tapes that Jim brought home from work on my "Walkman".  What is/was a Walkman? and what tapes did I listen to?

A "Walkman" was a small portable audio tape machine ... remember those small plastic reel to reel tapes and the players you needed to play them?   They came with head phones that could be attached to the player so you could listen while walking or running.  The sound was incredibly wonderful.  I had a lot of music and church talks on tapes to listen to (I still have a bunch of them).  But my favorite ones were a series of tapes Jim used when teaching at his work called
The walking enabled be to exercise every day - something II also used some of that time to begin keeping a journal.  I never had been very good at that and still am not.  But because of things that were happening in my life at that time (I will explain in a later post), I felt prompted and motivated to begin writing.  That writing began after the twins had started seminary.

When as seniors in high school both Jeanie and Debbie were honored as  Conejo Valley debutants.  When the word "debutante" comes to mind we think of "high society"and usually wealthy parents honoring the "coming out" into the society of their eighteen year old female offspring. This was not why debutantes in Thousand Oaks were honored.  They were chosen because of their service to their high school as well as in the community during their high school years.  Grades paid a part as well. They were recognized and honored at a special public program held at a local event center.  Yes, the girls had to wear white long dresses, but not the thousand dollar kind.  That would never have happened in my world.  I believe each of the girls made their own dresses.

By the time Jeanie graduated and went off to BYU, the twins had