I grew up in a poor but happy family. We lived in a large 5 room house. Two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, and a back unfinished room that we used for storage. Oh yes and a bathroom that didn't have running water. We had to use the old outhouse.

There were six kids at the time. Two boys and four girls. I had a baby sister but she came after the back room was finished and made into another bedroom. But that wasn't for many years. We had one big bedroom upstairs that I had to share with my brothers and sisters. My two brothers slept in one full size bed, three sisters slept in another full size bed and my older sister slept in a single bed.

We were raised that when it got dark outside it was bedtime. Well, when you were little and didn't know how to tell time, you didn't know that you were in bed at 6:00 every evening in the winter time. But once you learned to tell time, your bedtime was 9:00. Mom couldn't fool you anymore.

I remember all of us in bed and we were talking and giggling and mom would yell up the steps "You all better shut up and go to sleep or I am coming up there." Oh I can still hear her. I remember the time she would sneak up the steps. These steps squeaked, but mom knew how to climb them without making them squeak. She must have praticed going up and down them while we weren't there to be able to walk up them so quietly. She would get at the top and yell, "I told you all to shut up and go to sleep". You talk about scared, you wouldn't hear a peep out of none of us.

And there was a time that she yelled up "If you kids don't shut up and go to sleep, I am leaving." We heard the outside door slam. Mom left us. So we thought. We all started on each other. Crying she left because of you, no it was you, oh mom left us. Next thing we know, after a little while we hear mom yell up, "If you kids don't shut up and go to sleep I will leave again." Wow, mom was back and we all went to sleep and didn't make a sound. We also learned to whisper so mom couldn't hear us.

I remember laying in bed and all of us singing Old McDonald had a farm, and Row Row Row Your Boat. We did have fun. Having a large family was great. We didn't have much but was happy with the little we had.