Mama didn’t have much luck growing flowers and plants in the yard. Almost everything she planted, with the exception of the family garden, was dug up, torn apart, eaten or otherwise inhumanely tortured and killed by me, my brothers and our dog. We were allowed an enormous amount of playtime in the yard, and often invented things to do that she may not have approved of if we had thought to ask her before we did them. It was a hard thing to remember, for example, to turn the hose off after it had been turned on, and it was only after a couple of hours that we discovered the mud hole we had accidentally created right where she had just planted gardenias was absolutely perfect for mud wrestling, and we couldn’t resist the temptation. Neither could the dog. Evidently newly planted gardenias come up easily when surrounded by water and a mud wrestling contest, and while she did notice their plight when she thought we had been too quiet for too long and came out to see what we were doing, it was soon forgotten when she had to rinse off our muddy clothes before they went in the washer and us before we went into the tub. By the time she remembered the plants, the dog had successfully chewed them into toothpicks and was rolling in the twigs and leaves that were left. That sort of thing seemed to happen a lot around our house.
I remember the switch dance vividly. The first few years I learned to successfully avoid it by simply using my innocent, big-eyed technique and expressing "but Jim/Glen said it was okay". Being "the baby" had many advantages. I would then hide around the corner and watch them participate in the switch dance ritual. It was exciting to see, quite similar to a ho-down where the participants hook arm in arm and swing around in a circle but much faster and more animated. My "I'm too young to know better" excuse ended with the introduction of a younger brother. He would soon learn use it against me.
I remember the switch dance vividly. The first few years I learned to successfully avoid it by simply using my innocent, big-eyed technique and expressing "but Jim/Glen said it was okay". Being "the baby" had many advantages. I would then hide around the corner and watch them participate in the switch dance ritual. It was exciting to see, quite similar to a ho-down where the participants hook arm in arm and swing around in a circle but much faster and more animated. My "I'm too young to know better" excuse ended with the introduction of a younger brother. He would soon learn use it against me.