Grounded

I had a childhood that revolved around family.
My friends were my cousins.
I didn't know that was different.
It was just how it was.

I grew up with a bunch of fun crazy kids.
On my fathers side of the family there were 21 of we first cousins.
(Damn Italian Catholics and lack of birth control)
Every Sunday without fail we were all together after Mass at one anothers homes.

I have great memories of playing softball in the backyard,  red rover, and badminton.
In the winter we played silly games in the house. At my Uncles house we would run around the upstairs and there were some who jumped on beds and the person in charge of the lights would flash them and when the lights stopped you had to freeze. First one who fell or moved then was in charge of the lights.
Oh yeah, we played some silly games. But great memories. 

During this time our parents were drinking, smoking cigarettes like chimneys, laughing, talking, playing bocce or cards in the winter.

As we got older our games just changed. I played the piano and I had a cousin who played the organ. We would play duets for hours on end. There were endless laughs and fun.

We spent the night at one anothers homes. I spent 2 weeks in the summer at my cousins who lived about 80 miles away in Cleveland. She introduced me to Sugar Loaf and the song Green Eyed Lady and marijuana. Oh that was a strange and fun summer for me....while it lasted. 

My mother had died and my father was "dating" and I was looking forward to my annual 2 weeks at my cousin Joanne's.  My life was so much more sheltered than hers.
She even got to dress way cooler than me. My father was a pain  - no hot pants( short shorts), no super mini skirts and the like. The more fringe the more shit he'd give me.
Honestly made no sense but that' s my father.

We went over to her friends house. I wish I could remember her name because I can vividly see her in my minds eye. Her family had a basement that was cool to me with orange shag carpeting. She pulled out an album and told me her Uncle gave it to her. He worked for a record company in LA. She played it and it was Sugar Loaf. 
I grew to love the song Green Eyed Lady. It wasn't on the radio just yet where I lived.
Then one day in her basement she said her uncle gave her something and she pulled out a joint.
I was scared but I did it with she and my cousin.
We later ate a cake. That cracks me up to this day. A whole cake/just the 3 of us.
I remember a lot of laughing and a lot of eating. I was 14 years old.  Jeez I was young.
My cousin and her friends mom both worked. 
Back in 1970 there weren't a lot of moms who worked outside the home. 

When I came home after my 2 weeks I began hearing that song on the radio. 
I thought that was so cool. I knew it before everyone else did. 
I wrote a letter to my cousin because back in those days there was no texting, emails or cheap phone calls for people who lived out of state. 
If I had asked my father to call "long distance" he would have flipped out to call to just "talk" So a letter was sent.

My cousin wrote back to me and she sent me a joint in the mail with my letter.
I about died! And not because I was mortified but because my father found it.
I could have been killed.  Whoa it was bad. I couldn't lie. How could I lie he was holding it in the envelope. Doesn't matter why he was in my room snooping he'd have just told me it was his house. I was shit out of luck at this point.

I was then grounded until the fall school year started. No phone calls, no mail, no magazines, no tv, no friends over. I was in solitude until we went back to school after labor day.
It was like prison camp. Chores, taking care of my sister, cooking, cleaning, laundry etc.

I recall a friend calling  my house, my father grabbed the phone and I hear him say, "She is grounded until school starts, you can talk to her then" ....And Hung up. 

OMG. I ran to my room crying hysterically but not without screaming at my father that I was going to be an old maid and I hate you!  I slammed the door to my bedroom which was my fathers pet peeve. (well one of many)
Next thing I know my door is coming off my bedroom as I lay across my bed crying.
(I got the door back in fall when my punishment was over)
That'll teach me to slam the damn door!

It was a long long summer. 
I would stand on the edge of my yard and yell to my neighbor friend Mark. 
Then he'd see my dad's car and say, "See ya" and run like hell.
Mark was afraid of my father like most of my friends.
That was the closest I got to my friends - yelling across our yards.

I have to mention that my father did call my Uncle and tell him what his daughter sent me. But my cousin just got a lecture. Lucky her. I was in prison in my house for 2 1/2 months.

Did it stop me from ever doing that again? Hell no.
I just got better at hiding things as I got older.