Life in Our Neighborhood

I made friends with the other mothers in the neighborhood. We would all get together about once a month for "coffee." I never did learn to drink coffee - maybe because I served so many cups of coffee at Rexall Drug and later at College Drugstore in Aggieville. Tea never made my favorite list either, so I usually drank water or hot chocolate.

We hadn't lived in our home very long when our neighbor, LaVonne, invited the kids and me to go to church with her and her two daughters. It was a Methodist Church and I was very comfortable there since I grew up attending the Methodist Church. I joined the church and taught kindergarten Sunday School from the time Patti was five until she was fifteen.

Patti and Tony grew up in that church sitting in the second pew from the front. I sang in the chancel choir from 1977 through 2004. The choir and the handbell choir were a very important part of my life. I loved making music. The chancel choir and the handbell choir had wonderful directors. My church family was a big part of my life, especially after the kids grew up and left home.

We bought a second car so I was able to grocery shop and shop at the fabric store. My friend Carol from next door and I often went shopping together. Sometimes we had her three boys and Patti and Tony with us. That could become rather challenging at times.

I loved the sidewalk sales at Lindale. Quite often these sales enabled me to buy school clothes for the kids at very reasonable prices.

The day after Christmas we would go to Armstrongs Department store to trade in the kids' outgrown ice skates for skates that would fit. That was a great service the store provided. Of course, Armstrongs was my favorite store. Perhaps I will write about it later.