Tuesday, July 04, 2006

My Best 4th of July Ever!

This feels like a good day to start a blog. That and the fact that my son Spencer says if I don't, he'll write it for me. So here I am in my nightgown at 11:00 A.M. reminiscing about my favorite 4th of July of all time.
It was July 4th, 1950, and I was 4 years years old. I was in our bathroom sitting on the pot and the phone rang. I could hear my sister answer it and squeal, "It's a Boy! I hurried real fast, and ran out to the front porch to wait for my Mom and Dad to bring my new brother home. I waited and waited. Then my Dad came with no baby. Now, remember, the details of this day may be different for my parents and sisters, but this is from a small blue-eyed toehead who had until that point been the baby of the family for 0ver 4 years. My sisters were 9 and 14, with many more years behind them than I had.
After having 3 daughters, he was the happiness man in town with the birth of a son. We all knew it and we were happy too. Or I think I was. I then remember Dad taking me by the hand and we walked up to see my Mom at the small one level hospital just a block away past the city park. The park was full of everyone in town it seemed and Dad was telling them all about his new boy! The people were all cheering and patting Dad on the back, and I thought that my brother was so lucky to have so many celebrating his birthday, not knowing that they were celebrating our country's birthday.
When we got to the hospital, I remember looking into the window to see my Mother in bed. I guess I couldn't go inside. In those days, the Moms stayed for about 10 days before they came home. I don't think I even saw my brother that day.
That afternoon Dad took me with him to a little place on Main Street that had a soda fountain and I remember having my first 7-up. It was a good day!
My brother Lawrence Arthur Rasmussen is the best brother on this planet. He has always been good to me and my sisters, even when we tied him up in his highchair and yelled fire. Our parents weren't too happy about that because we had just had a fire in our house a few days before.
Have an awesome birthday Art, and a great 4th of July!

4 comments:

Adam Buchanan said...

Sitting on the pot?>!>!>!> grose...thats cool you started a blog.

everything pink! said...

what i am falling off my chair! mom i am so happy you did this!
we are all so happy!
jill will love reading it I know.

Encore Dance said...

Aunt Ruth, I love this!! Thanks for the story about my dad. You are a great sister! I'm so glad we can stay connected like this. Yea for Technology!
Julia

A Certain Englishman's Wife said...

That is one of my favorite stories of yours. I'm so glad my kids can read it whenever they want. Keep them coming!