"Funny" childhood memories or "Up Hill Both Ways"

MY SISTER BLOGGED A LIST OF DON'T WHINE FOR HER KIDS - I STOLE SOME OF HERS BECAUSE I LIVED THROUGH MOST OF THEM TOO. ADDED MY OWN. THEY ARE JUST FUNNY MEMORIES FOR ME.

I didn't OWN a car with powersteering or 4 doors untill my 2 child was born.
I didn't have a cell phone till I was 31 I still don't have texting.
I wasn't allowed to drive till I could change the oil

I had to take the drivers test in either: A TRUCK with a 3 speed clutch, A LONG HUGE VAN (couldn't parallel park that baby) or another car again a CLUTCH. (flunked parallel parking and backing around the corner with that one - cause the reverse in that clutch was either 10 miles an hour or nothing) STILL PASSED THE WHOLE TEST THOUGH:)
My dad had me drive the car all over town running errands for him at age 15 -
My Dad (aka stake president) interviewed/intimidated all my dates
We got new clothes ONCE a year b4 school

But at Christmas we did get silky undies from grandma - and a sweater.
We didn't have sprinkler system. We had to move sprinklers every half hour around our 1 acre lot It took 6 hours a day NO KIDDING

It took 3 1/2 hours to mow the lawn - even on a riding lawn mower

The mower once slipped out of park while emptying the bags - I tried to stop the huge thing rolling down the hill towards me - almost killed me!

I once got behind the car and tried to push it up a snowy hill as my dad drove it up the hill. I would push and slip and fall, push and slip and fall - honestly the car could have rolled back over me and killed me at anytime.

We had to hand wax the van every year

We also waxed a boat that was older than all of us combined.
I cleaned behind to door handles with a toothbrush on the cars
Pressure washed the driveway....in the rain or snow...down to the road (a good quarter mile long driveway)
Worked at a 7 -11 since I was 12. Ran the register from that age too. Was of course robbed once - when my parents and family were in another state! and I had to sleep alone that night - I was so scared he followed me home.

I always found it funny that I would work in downtown North portland by my self late at night often until midnight or 1 am - but I had a very strict curfew of 11pm.

If we didn't put our bags in our rooms after school Dad THREW them off the deck. Papers flew everywhere and were often subject to sprinklers. (Off 1 story deck and it would then roll down the hill.)
We were allowed to have a friends over for a birthday party every other year.
My Mom washed my hair till I was about 10. She didn't think I was capable of "doing a good job."

We used to RENT VCR tapes and the VCR PLAYER and dad would bring it home in a suitcase.
We worked every single Christmas morning/afternoon in the 7 -11 so the employees could be with their families ( I really liked this though)
I have been DROP KICKED 2 times and only 1 time did I deserve it.

At age 9 my dad and I painted TAR HOT TAR all over the concrete walls for the basement. Took 1 -2 FULL days as i recall.

When I was also 9 my father had me and my 110 lb pregnant mother (and him) carry up a HEAVY and HUGE jaquizi tub up a flight of stairs. (with out any spindals/ralling I fell nearly a story to the ground. ) He still doesn't call people over to help him move stuff. :)
I didn't have my "own" car until I was 26. Never had a car in college. I had to be the mooch :)

I once saved up for a toy I wanted that was 16 bucks and we only could earn 1 buck a week. By the time I got to the store to buy it, it was on clearnance. )

I once pulled 809 canadian thistles for a penny each. (Everyone hated pulling them because they were so stickery. So I did. My mom stopped me at 809 because she didn't want to pay me anymore money.

I have worked 12 hour days in the yard. How? Well, my dad had a big SPOT light he would get out so that we could work until 10 pm. sometimes even 11pm. We did it all for a Hagen Dauze SP?

I didn't even have friends over once a month (until I turned 16) In fact i was invited over to a friends house "just to play" in 4th grade and I thought that was a majorly cool concept I had never experienced before. (except for every other year birthday parties. ):

I shoveled a how truck load of chicken poo into the garden on my 16th birthday.

I used to have to help my dad clean the roof. I was more there to call 911 if he fell. But would also have to reach HIGH above my head to catch a 10 gal bucket full of gutter clean outs - I had more than one fall on my head and that stuff STINKS!

There was a summer I worked 2 full time 40 hour jobs. I would have to be to work by 5:30 am every morning to build motherboards for freightliner trucks - drove directly to my 7 -11 job and worked until 12 or 1 am and headed home to be up the next morning. I was so tired I often slept with my head on the shelf for our 10 min breaks. :) And in the car on the way home - yes I drove. :)

So these are some of my "Funny" child hood memory. :)

**FEEL FREE TO ADD A FUNNY CHILD HOOD MOMENT OF YOUR OWN!