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But wasnt it fun, having all those kids over..I always loved it...of course, my house was always a disaster, with all the kids running in and out, and all the acitivites with kids and pets run amok...but I just remember it as being loads of fun....

When we first moved down there, Andy was barely 4, and still had a year before he went to school...most of the other kids in the area, were already in school...but Mikes older friends had a little sister, just about Andys age...her name was Brandy, and she was a little doll...

Brandy was very tiny for her age, no doubt going to be a petite little thing, whenever she grew up...she had snow white hair, and big blue eyes, and a sweet, pretty little face and she was just sweet in nature...

Her mom lived down the block from us, had two older boys, and an older girl...and just Brandy at home during schooltime...the mom sold tupperware, and had asked me if I could watch Brandy during the day, when she had her sales meetings and parties, and she would pay me...

Well, I was just glad to have a little playmate for Andy, and told the mom she did not have to pay me, I just glad to have Brandy for a little playmate for Andy...cute...Andy and Brandy....

Anyway, playtimes with Brandy were never the same each week, being timed to coincide with the moms various parties...but usually three days out of five I had Brandy with us...the mom would always bring her lunch and enough for Andy...usually sandwiches and soup, or macaroni and cheese, or a can or spaghettios...so Andy got a free lunch and the two of them enjoyed their lunch together, and playtime together...

Altho poor Andy always wound up playing 'house' with Brandy, she being the wife and Andy being the hubby, and having to call each other 'sweetie' and 'honey' and such and pretending to have babies...but Andy indulged her, knowing when the boys came home from school, he could play baseball or football, or roll around in the dirt, when the boys came home...so it all worked out well...

But one day, Brandy wanted to know where Dom was...well, her dad was in the airforce, but his schedule was a little more regular than Doms, her dad being a mechanic, and BigDom being Airborne, and much more prone to longer hours...

So I explained to little Brandy about Dom and how he usually returned late, after we had already had our own dinner, and how I always saved his dinner if he returned home late...Well, little Brandy then would come down to our house, later in the evening to find out if Dom had returned from work...if he had, and was eating dinner at the table, she would ask if she could sit at the table to talk to him...she was just the cutest little gal, no one could refuse her...

So often, Dom spent his dinners with Andys little playmate Brandy...usually Andy and Mike were doing boy things, with each other or their friends...but little Brandy would be at our table, enjoying her time with Dom...when he was finished eating, she would hug him and say bye bye and go home...

I was just glad that she felt like she could just come over any time, and eat with us...

I also used to keep on eye on one of Mikes friends, whose parents were separated(the mom went back to Japan)...the dad was in the army, so the kid got home from school before his dad returned from base...so most days, I would wind up feeding this kid as well...

I guess I just felt there was always room and time and food enough to watch and feed those kids who needed it...

Isn't it amazing how many kids need a place to hang out..? A place where there are people always around?

I used to wonder where all the parents were, and how come our home was the place they chose to stay? Even then I guess a lot of mothers had to work, but it was still sad for the kids.. My son's teenaged boyfriends always seemed on the loose, like no one was around for them.. It was like they never "had" to be home for anything including meals..

Well, I guess it was about the same when I was little.. All my friends gravitated to my Mom and Dad's house too. They liked her cooking I guess, and the easy atmosphere.. lol

One more pic and I'm heading upstairs to watch TV.. My butt hurts..lol