I don't remember much about my earliest childhood. I was born December 19, 1956, weighing in at over 9 lbs. My parents named me Sara Lynne, and I like my name. My older sister, Ellen, probably wasn't real thrilled at my arrival which was followed a couple of years later by the birth of our younger sister Laura. The three of us were born in Martinez, California, where our father, a research chemist, worked at Shell Oil Company. In late 1959, he was transferred to Deer Park, Texas. I don't remember a thing about the trip but it must have been an experience! We moved into a nice three bedroom house in Pasadena, which is next to Deer Park, both of which are suburbs of Houston. One of my earliest memories is when I turned 4 and got a "big doll" - and I still have Sally 50 years later.
I think I had to have been a little precocious, because I knew how to read when I started school. My mother taught me to walk the few blocks to the church kindergarten when I was 5, and I walked it alone. Back then parents didn't fear for their children like they have to now. I walked the half mile to and from elementary school for 4 years. I was put into an experimental accelerated class in first grade, although I didn't realize it at the time. Towards the end of third grade, my mother asked me if I wanted to skip fourth grade, and I jumped at the opportunity to skip a grade of school. I had always made A's, and continued to do so through intermediate school. High school was another story, but I made it through.
I made "best friends" with Pattye down the street, and Joann a few blocks in the other direction. Later I was friends with Debbie, but I realize now she wasn't a very good influence. I didn't really have many friends, wasn't a social person then or now. I loved to read, and was called a bookworm. My mother taught me to sew, knit, crochet, embroider, do needlepoint, and quilt. I loved doing all those things and in high school made all my own clothes. I got a sewing machine for graduation, which thrilled me. I have used it alot through the years, but not much now, and it is currently in my youngest daughter's room.
The best memories I have from childhood are the family vacations that we took every summer. We went back to California for a family reunion, met our California grandparents in Arizona another year for a month of camping, and went to Oak Creek, Colorado where my great-grandmother lived quite a few times. When I was 12, we went to Minnesota and Wisconsin, probably for a month, and canoed and camped all over the place.
In a lot of ways, I had a "Leave it to Beaver" childhood.
I think I had to have been a little precocious, because I knew how to read when I started school. My mother taught me to walk the few blocks to the church kindergarten when I was 5, and I walked it alone. Back then parents didn't fear for their children like they have to now. I walked the half mile to and from elementary school for 4 years. I was put into an experimental accelerated class in first grade, although I didn't realize it at the time. Towards the end of third grade, my mother asked me if I wanted to skip fourth grade, and I jumped at the opportunity to skip a grade of school. I had always made A's, and continued to do so through intermediate school. High school was another story, but I made it through.
I made "best friends" with Pattye down the street, and Joann a few blocks in the other direction. Later I was friends with Debbie, but I realize now she wasn't a very good influence. I didn't really have many friends, wasn't a social person then or now. I loved to read, and was called a bookworm. My mother taught me to sew, knit, crochet, embroider, do needlepoint, and quilt. I loved doing all those things and in high school made all my own clothes. I got a sewing machine for graduation, which thrilled me. I have used it alot through the years, but not much now, and it is currently in my youngest daughter's room.
The best memories I have from childhood are the family vacations that we took every summer. We went back to California for a family reunion, met our California grandparents in Arizona another year for a month of camping, and went to Oak Creek, Colorado where my great-grandmother lived quite a few times. When I was 12, we went to Minnesota and Wisconsin, probably for a month, and canoed and camped all over the place.
In a lot of ways, I had a "Leave it to Beaver" childhood.
