December 24th, 2016--the last day of Advent

December 23, 2016 on the back waters in Naples FL

Rusty, the captain, leading us in our 3+ hours of pleasure!

Terry and I had a full but a very fun day yesterday.  I played tennis at 7:30 and had a fun time.  When I returned home we headed out to return two items and to have Terry's new watch fitted.  Then on the way home Terry said she wanted to stop one more place which I was puzzled about.  It was the Pro Am tennis store and I have a great Christmas present--a new racquet.  It is just like my other one but it is recommended that you have 2 in case a string breaks or something.  As hard as I hit the ball I may have a string break every 10 years BUT it is recommended you restring your racquet about every 3 months if you plan often.  I am excited to have a new racquet.
We arrived home and needed to leave in about 10 minutes as a friend and tennis team mate asked Terry and I to go on a boat ride.  We spent 3+ hours on the back waters and the gulf.  It was a perfect weather day and a very fun and relaxing time.  I would say I have never spent a December day like that.
I decided to have a bit of Baileys with my FP on the last day of Advent.  Not so much memories of Advent or Christmas this morning but rather of winter on the farm.

• We did not have a hill to sled down but we did hop the fence beyond the three-holer and slid down a tiny hill to the creek bottom.
• Often Dave and I would put on our overshoes, sling our skates over our shoulder and hike up to the lake where we would shovel snow off the ice and play a game of hockey.  That is until that darn hockey puck that Dave glued together out of tire tubes got too cold and fell apart!
• Winter was a time of daily carrying in 5 gallon cans of kerosene for the stove in the living room.  It was the only heat after Dad took out the cook stove.  Some time later Dad did put a barrel outside and a line into the stove in the house.
• There was a time when we would go out to the granary to get coal for the cook stove.  I do not know who delivered the coal.
• Winter was a time of COLD car rides as Dad never heated the car before we left and most of the time we would visit relatives who were close so by the time we arrived the car still was not very warm.
• Winter was a time of  board games, electric sets, Lincoln Logs, ping ping, puzzles and more.  
• Winter was a time of running upstairs as fast as possible and jumping in bed under about 3 or 4 quilts.  I remember when I was in the 5th grade and we had a geography test.  Mrs. Fox was our teacher.  She called me up to her desk the next day and wondered why I got such a poor grade.  She guessed it may be because I slept under so may covers I got tired instead of good sleep!
• Winter was a time of many arguments with Mom.  Ear laps down, ear laps up, ear laps down, ear laps up.  I finally wised up and would cover my ears when I left the house.  Then as soon as we were out of sight I would put the ear laps up!
• Winter was a time of walking to the barn in the snow with a lantern in one hand and the milk pail in the other.  The lantern would hang on a nail while we sat on the one legged milk stool and milked.  I can still see these many many pair of beady cat eyes in the dark begging for a squirt of milk.
• Winter was a time of lying in bed counting the frosty nail heads in the ceiling!
• Winter was a time of enjoying the fruit of our summer labor with quart jars of peaches and other food.  Actually to be truthful it was mostly the labor of Mom.
• Winter was a time of digging out the hay from the snow and throwing it over the fence OR early on riding in the hay rack to the field and filling it with hay and then throwing it into the hay barn when we arrived home.
• Winter always presented the challenge of keeping the water tank in the barn full without having it run over into the pen.  We were successful most of the time!
• Winter was a time of hunting fox as we drove around the country side.  AND make sure you did not complain about cold feet or Dad would stop the car and tell you to get out and run for a while to warm up!

As one can see our life way back in the 50's and 60's was so so different than life today.  No computers, no TV for a long time and no phone.  Our play consisted of board games, made up games and card games.  Oh, you could throw some comic books in for reading material. Actually we could bring books home from school to read.  In the school year of 58/59 I read and handed in 110 book reports--we were encouraged to hand in 25 book reports.  most of the reading was in the winter.  I am guessing that half of the books were about horses!  I always wanted a horse but no luck.

Enough, Terry and I will not hear laughing and screaming little kids tonight.  Instead it will be a pretty quiet time with an early bed time.  Tomorrow we will spend much of the day with friends at their house.  We will relax and enjoy the gift of life and then think about fun and wild times next weekend when we are in South Bend with 12 grand children. 

Advent of 2016 comes to an end and the FP for now is all gone.

I was tired last night!!!--John in 1970