Stuff Portrait Day

This is Friday and that means Stuff Portrait Day over at Kristine’s Random and Odd.
My pictures are pictures of pictures because I don’t know how to run the scanner.  So I took these out on the back porch and clipped them up on the wall and used my digital camera.  They came out pretty good, and I feel so innovative!

The assignment was Total 80’s Flashback!
“Something from the 80’s you can’t let go of”

Well, that would be my sons.  Birthdays 1980, ‘83, and ‘85.  This picture was taken by their dad during the summer of 1988.  He had them sitting on a beach towel on the hood of the car in the parking lot whilst the momma was busy clearing up after teaching Sunday school.

Pretty much what I remember of the ‘80s is breastfeeding, diapers, shots, children’s teeth either coming in or falling out.  And making payments for everything.  Lots of yard sales shopping.  Feeding a family of 5 on $67 a week in food stamps plus WIC coupons.  School permission slips and lunch tickets.  The head of household working 62 hours a week to pay the gas heating bill in February.
The Challenger in January 1986—Husband called me from work to tell me to turn on the news, the shuttle just blew up.  I had 3 small sons around the lunch table eating macaroni and cheese with weenie slices, then pickles alongside.  There was no way I was going to disturb the peace by turning on the TV.  The world got put on hold while motherhood was my top priority.

An object from the ‘80s is this basket.  I carried it full of little houseplants between my feet on an airplane for the trip back from my dad’s funeral in January 1989.  The plants are gone.  I’m not willfully mean to plants, I just forget to put them in bigger pots or water them because they don’t come crying to me like the cats do.  The clothespins are fine in their cozy nest, and I have an almost daily memory about daddy.

“A CD or movie you have from the 80’s”
A couple kid’s flicks.  Although, actually, The PRINCESS BRIDE was for me, and BEETLEJUICE for Husband.  I think he took at least the two older boys to the theater to see it.  We did not get the VHS tape until later.  We got our first VCR by pooling all the Christmas money that came our way in 1987.
The CD is THE LIVING YEARS by Mike and the Mechanics.  I think the radio tune from the summer of ‘88 was the title name, but we like all the songs.

“A picture of you from the 80’s”
  The ones of me alone are only so-so.  I like me better when I’m with people.
 
  The first is on Husband’s 25th birthday in May 1982.  Also the day before Oldest son’s 2nd birthday, plus Mother’s Day (note my silk corsage with yellow roses—my favorite).  I wore contact lenses for about 4 years, but developed a reaction to the solution.  Glasses seemed easier after that.
As I recall, we celebrated all of us by stopping on the way home from church at Long John Silver’s Seafood, which had no other customers.  Who goes to Long John’s on Mother’s Day?  It was what we could afford and had a taste for. 

Next was taken by our neighbor the day they put new asphalt on our street, June 1986.  I like how we all are barefoot, and my sons are with me, safe on the steps, a clear distance from the working men and noisy machines. 

Here are all the girls at my youngest sister’s wedding in September 1987.  I was the guest book person, and I got to see everybody as they came in wearing wedding finery.

Being the sister from out of town, at the door was a good place to be, and then I sat in the back and kept my munchkins from being major noisy pests.  Their dad was busy taking some nice pictures at the reception.
I still have that dress in the closet, and by the time I will have lost weight, it should be back in style again.

This is what I came up with.  Stuff Portrait Friday is a nice way to bring out the best for your viewing pleasure.
~~love and Huggs, Diane