What Kind of House Did You Grow Up In? (Chapter 5)

From Washington DC we moved to Denver, Colorado.  My mother so wanted a house of her own and had my Aunt Norma and Uncle Frank Allen pick a house in a new housing development for her.  She and Dad made the final decisions when we got there.  Mom was excited about living in Colorado for several reasons: 1. She was just hours away from her parents in Utah. 2. She was back in the mountains and she was positive that would bring her health back. 3. Aunt Norma lived  just a few minutes away (for the first few months and then they got orders for England).

There were a few things that Mom did not check on before moving into the house.  She assumed that since it was so close the Fitzsimmons hospital that we were part of Aurora, not Denver.  Turned out she was wrong.  I was in one of the worst Junior High Schools in all of Denver because of the segregated bussing that was instituted that year.  We were also not in the big military ward but a poor (as in poverty stricken) branch.  I hated my church experience there so badly that I have completey blocked it out.  I know I went.  I know I participated but I remember nothing except looking at a picture of Christ on the wall and knowing that He was my friend and would be my friend wherever we moved.  That brought me comfort every week as I sat in that classroom.  My school experiences were even worse.  The house was great but when you are in the 8th and 9th grades, how much time do you get to spend at home?  I found myself spending more and more time in my room and not wanting to come out.  Mom was in the hospital more and more and I really resented that.  I did not have a good relationship with my Grandma Brugger and she would take charge every time Mom went into the hospital.  Grandpa Brugger tried to buffer us but I am sure he got tired of that role.  Denver was a two year nightmare in a beautiful home. 

We spent the first 4 months of our stay in Denver, first in a nice apartment in downtown and then in a motel room with a kitchenette just outside of the military post (that was kind of sleazy).  Mom wanted to be onsight with the house to make sure it was done to her specifications.  I - to this day - think things would have gone faster without  her there.  When I watch "Sleepless in Seattle" and they joke about the woman that keeps wanting the cabinets changed and walls moved - I know that was my Mom!  She had the Living Room wall moved (a retaining wall, by the way) twice that I know of.  She changed the formation of the kitchen cabinets from the model home and she changed the way the family room was laid out after the slab was poured.  But she did get the house exactly how she wanted it.  She lived in it for 14 months.  Then we moved to Ephraim, Utah while Dad went to Korea.

I have been concentrating on the houses so much I forgot to wish Pammy a Happy Birthday yesterday!  We love you and are very proud of you - no matter what day we send our love.