Pondering and Musing on Days Past.

Rudy asked me the other day if Things were better a few years ago or now...
I didn't want to hurt his feelings but to tell the truth I think things were better and easier before, when we both were working , when the kids were home. Why, you might ask, well before, I drove a coffee route.
I'm the one with the really long hair on the left
I went to towns all over E. Texas and cleaned coffee machines maintained them and sold product (coffee, sugar, cream, cocoa, ect...)to businesses, manufacturing plants ect and I pretty much ran my own business and route. I went to lots of places in a day. Some days were harder than others , some days were easy. I could go as fast or slow as I wanted to go as long as I finished my route for the day and I always did. I loved my job. I was out in the public and I had many friends and aquaintances. Now the fun part. I love resale & thrift stores, The "goodwill store" Is one of my favorite places along with garage sales, and I want to tell you I made my rounds. On Fridays I'd get to work super early so I could get my truck loaded and get gone, so I could get my route done and go to garage sales,or what ever favorite store there was in the town that I'd be working in that day. I'd just pace myself sometimes I'd intertwine my route and my pleasures! What fun!! I wish I could do it again. I don't know if I could keep up the pace of the route anymore cause I really am out of shape, but, I'd sure try.
There was a resale store in one of the small towns that had a lady that brought clothes there to sell that had a daughter named Whitney. She brought fancy monogramed clothes. The shop owner knew I had a daughter named Whitney, so she'd always save them for me. I'd come through and she'd go get the clothes and I'd feel like a million dollar winner! Everybody always thought I got the clothes made for Whitney, truth is I paid very little for them.

I had some days that I sold, or tried to get new accounts. I would take my coffee in and make a pot. The coffee I sold was so good, I usually always made the sale, and always made friends!
I think back on these days fondly. It was not easy then, working , taking care of the kids cooking cleaning ect, but we didn't complain much, we didn't have time to complain. Rudy always helped me with the housework and cooking. He told me the other day "If I never eat hamburger helper again, it'll be too soon"
I remember one day I was servicing a plant that had about 40 coffee macines. It was pretty much an all day job. I got a page that I needed to call home. I did and it was one of my boys calling to tell me that another one of my boys had shot out the sliding glass door with a B.B. gun. There were alot of catastrophic days like that. I always dreaded the summer cause the boys tended to get into mischief. I think back on it now and wonder "How" I managed, and all my boys survived. God's grace alone I suspect. They were very rowdy but really just typical boys. I often told people I'm not a mother I'm a referee!
I miss those boys.
L.toR. Matt,Michael,Chris,Chad
(I don't remember the dogs name)





On the weekends when Mark got the boys , me & Rudy would pack up the night before and as soon as we got off on Friday we'd hit the road. It didn't matter where we went, we were together. We went alot of places on very little funds!!