Timeline '69-'74

I thought it may be fun to do a timeline a la Holly from Nothing But Bonfires. I'm a military brat and so my memories from childhood are segmented by 3 year chunks in various places.

The early years aren't really mine to talk about, in that what I know is mostly from what I'm told and not what I remember.

I was born in 1969 in Middleton, N.S. My parents lived in Greenwood on the air force base at that time (which we did only twice) and since there wasn't a hospital there, my birth certificate says Middleton.

They already had my older brother Sean and sister Terri who were 4 and almost 3 when I was born.

{I love this picture of my Mom, so pretty}

We lived in Greenwood for another 3 years I think. During that time we lived in the cutest little PMQ (private married quarters) that backed onto a field. We had a maltese named Muppet. My Dad was gone a ton because he was out flying over the ocean looking for submarines.

Our next posting was to Key West, Florida where we lived for a year. This house I remember as being a bungalow that had a backyard with a swamp in the back and poisonous jellyfish. I recall there being crazy storms and eating at a restaurant near the beach and the water was coming in on the floor. I also remember going to the Officers Mess (which is like their hang-out place) and being on awesome monkey bars on the beach. My Dad caught a shark, wore cut-off jean shorts and sandals and my Mom was pregnant by the end of the year with my little brother.

{I guess Terri had an itsy bity yellow polka-dot bikini}

Apparently we went to Disney World a couple of times (it had only opened in '71) and what I remember is the Mickey Mouse shaped balloons, my Dad wearing wax teeth in the hotel, and 10,000 leagues under the sea ride.

{I found evidence!}

We were then posted to Patuxant River, Maryland where there is a naval air station. We lived in a split level and I think the house my parents bought in the last few years here is very similar. My little brother Danny was born in November. My grandparents came down for a visit, as well as help watch the 3 of us while Mom was in the hospital with the baby-that-would-steal-my-thunder. When my Grandma told me that name of the baby was Daniel I remember thinking that was a stupid name. I was only 4 after all.

Our backyard seemed HUGE to me in that house, with woods behind us where the 'easter bunny' would hide eggs on easter morning. We had a Great Dane that lived next door and I was terrified of it. In my minds eye it was 10 feet tall and would bark every time I walked by the side of the house to go in the back. I'm pretty sure I had nightmares about that dog for years.

I don't remember Mom and Dad too much from this year. I know that Sean broke his foot and walked on it for days because my Dad didn't believe it was broken. I remember my little brother had to wear a metal bar between his shoes to fix torsion in his leg(s). I do remember, again, there being crazy storms where my Mom had us stay away from the windows (maybe that was Key West) and the power going out.

When this year was done we moved to Ottawa, somewhere I had yet to live but where most of my Dad's relatives lived.