36º...Raining and Dreary

Ahhhhh, the mood settles in...Not bad though because this morning I worked for about 2 hours on an essay that has to be finished by January 31 and seemed to make some good progress.

I've copied and pasted a few of paragraphs for your "viewing pleasure" about my life at 17 when I left my rather sheltered childhood for the world beyond...I've posted some of this before but have made changes...So read it or not that's what there is!!    OWAV:)

I’ve been thinking lately of when I left home to go to "Beauty School."  Me a farm girl through and through. What was I thinking? In my 17 years the longest I had been away from home was for 2 weeks, when I stayed with my sister and helped her with a new baby. I was 12 years old at the time. Now at 17 I was engaged and thinking about marriage shortly after high school graduation.  It was common to get married at that age and start a family but also often said, "A girl needs something to fall back on, just in case".  I was never a star student, average at best. Mom and Dad always said, “If you want to go to college we will find the money.” I knew they would support me in anything I decided to do, but I also knew it would be a hardship for them. They had recently put our ranch up for sale to pay off the mounting debts. Besides I really didn’t think I was college material and just the thought of attending a school with over 2000 students gave me nightmares, but I didn’t think twice about going into marriage at 17.

Beauty school seemed like a good fit. Did it matter that I had been in a beauty shop only twice in my entire life? I could be finished within a year and it was a profession to fall back on. My parents and I made a trip in early spring to Boise to meet Sylvia Bigler, my brother-in-laws cousin and check out the Beauty Schools. Sylvia lived and worked in Boise, had just rented a larger apartment and needed a roommate to share the cost. Sylvia older by 5 years than I, seemed like a safe person for their youngest daughter to room with, her warm smile and gentle nature put all of us at ease as she quickly showed us around the two room apartment. She seemed to have a mothering instinct. My parents liked that. We also checked into the possibility of a room at the YWCA but cost wise at $1.50 per day, it would be much more expensive than sharing an apartment with another person. We toured Idaho State Beauty and Barber school and Excelsis, just a Cosmetology school.  Excelsis was an easy choice with its spacious feeling, large picture windows along the entire front and a pleasant atmosphere.  In spite of the strong permanent smell we returned home with a good feeling about this plan and I began filling out the paper work to start beauty school on June 6, 1960, just two weeks after my high school graduation. 

My last two months spent at home, I moved my wedding date to June 1961, finished high school, attended graduation and started packed my belongings, knowing that when I finished beauty school my parents would have sold the ranch and would be living in a different house. My emotions were mixed. On one hand leaving the safety of my parents home and everything I knew from the past 10 years was as scary as a 5 year old entering school for the first time and on the other hand the excitement I felt sent me soaring into a new life much like an astronaut going on the first flight into space.

Moving day finally arrived, a bitter, sweet day as we packed the family car with everything I would need for several months. Boise was 100 miles away and my parents would drive me to Boise, then return home to Lake Fork and continue with their own packing as their life changed, with the sale of the ranch and they moved to a new home. Further more saying goodbye to their youngest was not easy for either of them. We arrived in Boise, carried my possessions into the new apartment and went to a main street cafe for lunch.  Daddy ordered veal cutlets and Mom and I each a hot beef sandwich, all dinners complete with mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans. The cost was $2.50 to $3.50 each when coffee or coke was added. Back at the apartment we said our goodbyes, hugs all around. With emotions on edge, few words spoken, I watched the car disappear around a corner, before walking into the apartment building, tears streaming down my face.