Thursday, July 10, 2008

From Aunt Kathleen

These are excerpts from letters that I wrote to Mom and Dad (Mike's Grandma & Grandpa Hardie) when I lived in the Twin Cities in the late 1960’s. Mike would have been around 4 years old.

January 7, 1969: “I had some extra yarn sitting around, so I made the boys some slippers and Mike a pair of mittens. Well, I took them over New Year’s Eve – we got there a little bit late so the kids were asleep. Mike woke up during the night because of the noise we were making so I gave him his slippers and the mittens. The crazy nut wore both of them to bed and ran around all the next day with them on.”

March 18, 1969: “For Mike’s birthday I think the bathing suit is a good idea or else some bermudas with the matching shirt. He goes through clothes so fast. I have to laugh every time I see him along side Chris. Chris is so neat about his clothes and everything has to be so-so and then there’s Mike. He could care less if his shirt isn’t tucked in or if his cowboy boots are on the wrong feet. Guess that’s what makes him so doggone loveable!”

April 8, 1969: “I had to laugh when we were going to the park today. I was walking with Laura and Chris & Michael were up ahead. Here was Chris so neat in his jeans and a sweatshirt and looking like a boy on his way to pose for an ad and then there was Mike. He reminded me of the Boys’ Town movie with his cowboy boots on, one pant leg in – one out, a torn winter jacket on and his stocking cap pulled way down to cover almost his whole face. Such a contrast that I just had to stand there and laugh.”

May 15, 1969: Saturday we had quite an experience with number two son of the Cox family. They had all been over to see me at my apartment complex. Well, the manager’s two kids were in the hall right outside our door so I figured it must be all right if the three of them played there also. Huh! The two (Chris and Laura) stayed right by the door, but not Mike. He was running all around and getting into everything and we didn’t know about it until we heard glass breaking. Right above the stairs to the front are three hanging lamps. Well, the kid had reached one by hanging on the railing and then swung it so that it hit the other lamp and broke it.

1 comment:

L a u r a said...

Thank you so much for adding the information from your letters, Kay! They're great! I vaguely remember the glass breaking at your apartment!! The other stories fill in good detail for me at least about how much our Jimmer is like Mike--not worried about the unimportant details and getting messy. He just wanted to have some fun, darn it!