Growing Up in Williamsport, Ohio

​Betty and I Moved Out
 
Betty and I moved out….into the back yard. We would get upset with my mother about something and move out. We took our toys, clothes and everything we owned. And we did it more than once. 
 
We stayed out all day under the lilac bush, roses and cherry tree. Our intention was to live outside. We made mud pies in my mother’s canning jar lids and decorated them with flower petals and dandelions. One time we took my mother’s big wash tub and pumped water in it. I washed Betty’s blouse on the wash board and hung it on the line to dry.
 
When it started to get dark, we knew that we had to go back in the house. By that time, we had forgotten why we had moved out in the first place. What a job it was to take all of the stuff we had taken outside back in the house. Even today, I remember how we dreaded that but it wasn’t a deterrent because we did it again.
 
When I told my daughter Michele about this escapade, she said, “Grandma was probably glad to have you two out from under her feet all day". She probably was!

Children's lawn furniture built by brother Bob.
©Marilyn Francis Ferguson 2020
Photography/graphics by Michele Ferguson Schuck