Back to Yesteryear with My Mother

A blast from the past

August 5

Nancy Oglesby: If you could go back in time, which of your parents would you like to meet in high school?

This is a great question and so difficult to answer. My father was an excellent student and very popular in sports. He was drafted to the Philadelphia Phillies farm team. I think it would be fun to meet him at that age.

However, I was so very close to my mother and I couldn’t possibly resist meeting her in high school.

My mother came into her own as she got older. She told me she was shy in high school. So was I.

My mother and I were such chatterboxes and we share a good sense of humor.

In high school, my mother caught the attention of a few guys. She was very beautiful and I am surprised she wasn’t chosen as the belle of her class. She excelled in all of her courses.

One thing that I have always noticed when looking through my parents’ yearbooks was that everyone had a very serious look on their faces. It was like they were told that no smiling was allowed. Maybe it was just that era.

My mother was always a very sweet and kind person. She would listen to people and engage in conversations.

At the time my mother graduated from high school in 1948, the class favorites for actor and actress were Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman. Life was their favorite magazine. The favorite song was “Now Is the Hour” and the favorite vocalist was Bing Cosby.

After high school, my mother got a job that she absolutely hated. One day a co-worker came in and told everyone that the high school was looking for someone.

Either that day or the day after, when my mother got home, the high school called her and offered her that very same position. They were creating a job for her as secretary/treasurer to the principal.

She was just 17 and the job sounded very intimidating. She was in a quandary about what to do. With urging from her family, she took the job.

She loved it and the people she worked with. She would work there for 10 years until she met my father and began a family. She interacted a lot with students and loved the job. My mother usually had one to two hours off for lunch. She remained good friends with her colleagues throughout the years.

In fact, when I was in high school, one of the teachers she knew well, had me called out of class. She just wanted to meet me because of who my mother was.

It was fun and interesting meeting my mother during her high school years. It was nice to get to know her before she became my mother.

They say children seldom realize that their parents had lives of their own and were just like everyone else before they started their families.

It was lovely to get to know the younger version of my mother.

Now, using a little creative license, I would like to say:

“Nancy, I’m from the future. I came here in a time machine because you suggested it. Now I need your help to get back to the year 2023.”

Here is the challenge gang. Please show their stories some love. (Please let me know if you want your name removed from or added to the list. Either is easy to do, per your request. All you need to do is ask in the comments or a note.)

Autistic Widower (“AJ”), The Sturg, Bernie Pullen, Rhonda Carter, Harry Hogg, Brandon Ellrich, Paula Shablo, Jerry Dwyer, NancyO, Bruce Coulter, Adrienne Beaumont, Pluto Wolnosci, Marlana, Keeley Schroder, Dennett, Normal Earthling, Brett Jenae Tomlin, Katie Michaelson, Pat Romito LaPointe, Michael Rhodes, Karen Schwartz, Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, Ray Day, Ruby Noir 😈, Susie Winfield, Rachella Angel Page, Lisa Guard, Lu Skerdoo, C.A. Jaymes, Denise Kendig, Lynn L. Alexander, Michelle Jimerson Morris, Adrian CDTPPW, Jennifer Dunne, Shanti C K, Randy Pulley