Photoessay #1485 - Days gone by

I can't believe I would use such a sentimental title for such a picture, but us mothers are entitled. The mists of time are swirling for this photo taken nearly 20 years ago. And it just feels like yesterday!

My decades of parenting have left me permanently scarred. In fact, whenever I hear that it's time for kindergarten sign up, I still abruptly stop myself "Think! Think! Do I have anybody to sign up for kindergarten??" I can't stop doing it.

Every year, on the first day of school, the parents in my neighborhood would take a picture of the kids waiting for the school bus. We had our own bus stop at the entrance to our cul-de-sac. At that time, the neighborhood was very cohesive. Everybody knew everybody and the kids all played together and we did a pretty good job keeping the rules consistent. And every kid knew that every parent had the right to tell them to knock it off or send them home. I knew that Ilana had problems in one house, they would tell her to go home and she wouldn't. So we had 'practice going homes' to give her the message.

Now the neighborhood is not so cohesive. In fact, I don't know the people in several of the houses, can you imagine?

I'm having some trouble dating this photo. Eva's in the picture and she was a year ahead of Danny and Laura. So if she was in sixth grade, Danny would be in fifth grade, Susanna would be in second grade and Ilana would be in kindergarten. But Dane, who was a year behind Ilana is in the picture.

As usual, Naomi, the youngest, was along for the ride. I probably bought her off by letting her have a lunch in a bag like everybody else. I thought it was Sept 1993, but it could have been 1992. But Naomi looks more three than two.

There are two ringers in the group, the two girls in back on the far right actually lived on NE 195th, not 34th NE.

They're all standing in front of the Hockema's house (which is not the Hockema's house any more nor that color). Duh, look at the quality of the lawn, that's a dead giveaway.

That's eleven elementary school age kids in a cul de sac of twelve houses. A lot of kids.

To give you an idea, Naomi, the youngest, the baby, is now 21. Interesting, to my knowledge, Jonathan (in the blue and white striped shirt) is the only one married. Danny (in the Mariners sweat shirt) is the only parent. I don't know for sure.

To show my superior memory (leaving out the two girls on 195th), they are, left to right, Dane, Erin, Ilana, Jonathan, Sam, Danny, Naomi, Susanna, Laura, Eva and Lauren.

Four of them are mine, you can see that we always up the head count. Even now. I brought that group picture from Ilana's birthday to my photo class. Members of the class gasped, do you have *8* kids? No, I said, only four, the picture includes three significant others and my granddaughter. Still a cast of thousands.