JUDY HOLMES: Lessons learned while growing up in a different time

I grew up in houses big enough to carve out six bedrooms. My mom wanted her five children to each have their own bedroom. I liked having my own bedroom, my own domain. Although, learning to share a bedroom when in college was rocky.

My parents were generous with providing the space for our bedrooms and letting us choose the paint or wallpaper and the decor. We had beds, dressers, bookcases, and chairs in our rooms, eventually, desks as homework increased.

We each had our own alarm clock (a radio alarm clock when we were teenagers) because Mom wanted us to be independent in getting ourselves up for school. We did not have televisions or phones in our rooms.

We had one television in our house. The television was in the living room. It was big, clunky, and did not have a remote. Most often, sister Kathy was our remote. As kids, we usually lay on our stomachs on the floor to watch television. We had to agree on what shows to watch. Most often we did agree but sometimes Mom decided the television schedule, making sure we each were able to watch our personal favorite shows. For the most part, we watched each other's television shows because we watched television as a family.

We had one phone in our house, always located in the kitchen, until I was a senior in high school, and then the second phone was in my parent's bedroom. The location of the phone meant our conversations were heard by anyone in the kitchen area. We took turns calling our friends. Sometimes, we tapped the shoulder of whoever was on the phone, indicating that we, too, wanted to use the phone.

Like the television and phone, we had one bathroom in our house for a family of seven. Obviously, we took turns, knocking on the door if it was closed. I remember a time when everyone in our family was sick. Some of us had "the trots" as Dad called diarrhea. The bathroom was a busy place during our season of flu.

We had an evening daily bath schedule, one after the other with fresh tub water each time. I had some friends that shared bath water with their siblings. Our water heater must have been heavy-duty because I remember the water always being hot. Mom did not think children could get clean in a shower, so we were bath kids, taking showers only at school after gym class.

We had a strict morning bathroom schedule so we could all be ready to get on the school bus on time. We had to trade with someone in the lineup if we needed to be ready at a different time. When our allotted time in the bathroom was up, we let the next person in line know the bathroom was open for their morning routine.

Our house with one television, one phone, and one bathroom was not unusual. Our friends’ houses were the same. Our Amish friends did not have indoor plumbing so when we were at their homes, we used outhouses and pumped water for washing ourselves. We learned the process of heating water on a wood stove before taking a bath with a scant amount of water. Mom and Dad would remind us to be good guests and pitch in with the chores necessary to eat and wash up.

I always treasured growing up with my own bedroom, believing it helped create a sense of independence and an ability to be alone at an early age. But, I had not thought much about growing up with one television, one phone, and one bathroom until comparing it to what kids grow up with today — multiple televisions in their homes, often a television in their bedrooms, plus technology devices, personal phones, and frequently, a bathroom dedicated to the children of the household.

Learning to share the television, phone and bathroom clearly impacted my life. Learning the value of people making religious decisions not to have a television, phone or in-house bathroom also impacted my life. I now think that sharing a television, phone and bathroom with my family and learning about Amish religious practices impacted my life more than having my own bedroom. — Judy Holmes, a voracious reader and a fabulous cook, resides in Litchfield and thinks too much.

— Judy Holmes, a voracious reader and a fabulous cook, resides in Litchfield and thinks too much.