Telling the Truth

Back to summer 1972 and our trip across the states to the West Coast! We’re in Texas, visiting Diane (Sister #3) and her husband Clay who took the photo above. Diane just appeared from the kitchen with a surprise birthday cake! Our son’s 4th birthday.

Things I love about this photo? The looks on our children’s faces. Diane looks strong, healthy and pregnant. Our two are wearing jump suits (all the rage) made by me. And D is wearing his lovely hair and stylish red moustache. Also in style: wire-rim (not plastic!) eyeglasses.

Here’s our son showing off his first dress shirt and tie–a gift from Diane and Clay. The stethoscope is also a gift from them. Notice the neat arrangement of all gifts on the table. Also notice the pink bib (made by Diane, I think) for our daughter, and the wooden game just beside it. All things neat and in order. That would be Diane’s house. Our son is giving us the lowdown on his new outfit, making sure we all see and admire it.

We stayed at least two nights with Diane and Clay. Their apartment was adequate yet small. They gave us their bedroom and pulled out the sofa bed for themselves. The next morning, here’s what D and I saw when we came out of the bedroom.

That’s Diane on the left. Our two are already dressed for the day. Son is telling us all about his wonderful stethoscope; daughter is pretending to sleep. I’ve never understood the hair-twisting part!

Here we are at a miniature golf course, a first for our children. Clay and I are playing by the rules; Diane is keeping score.

Our son and daughter, however, are doing whatever they need to do to  get the job done. Less stressful and more efficient, don’t you think?

Another day we went to a park and had a picnic. Things to note: Jump-suits are still in. Tupperware makes a great substitute for a water hydrant. Our children are still relatively compliant. Maybe it’s because they get no food until their hands are at least rinsed off? I also love the colors in this slide/photo. They weathered well over the years. And of course I love seeing Diane and Clay again in this photo.

Here’s a sweet picnic photo of Clay and our children. It was a hot, sweaty day. I’m guessing that’s lemonade in their cups. You can also see Clay, like D, has a bushy moustache!

Finally, our 2-year old daughter at the same park, determined to get on that horse all by herself! Which she did, believe it or not.

All of our road trips were wonderful. I’m grateful we stopped in the middle of this trip to visit with Diane and Clay for a precious few days. Though it wasn’t the last time we saw them, it was a relatively innocent time for all of us. These photos help me remember and honor what we enjoyed together as sisters, wives, parents and children.

To be continued….

© Elouise Renich Fraser, 2 November 2015
Photo credit: Clay Kelley (top photo), DAFraser (all others)
Summer 1972 road trip, Texas