Category: Growing up Hollis

Growing up Hollis is my fond name for my childhood stories

Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to me!  On August 5, 2016 I will celebrate 5 years (Colon) Cancer free.  Yay!

 

You see on Friday, August 5, 2011 I had surgery to remove the colon cancer so I count that day in August as my anniversary date as opposed to counting when I actually completed my 12 chemo treatments which, by the way, was in February of 2012.  I’m not going to get into it here as I have already blogged about the actual experience which can be found under Blogs on my site, lajeunehollis.com – Check out my blog post:   A Place of Desert…(almost) 4 years cancer free

 

Although I tried unsuccessfully to put on a Colon Cancer Cruise in 2015 Check out my blog post:  Colon Cancer Survivors Cruise Info it was still a learning experience that left me much richer for it…

 

The month of March will forever hold a special place in my  heart as it is Colon Cancer Awareness Month and without the colonoscopy I received back in June of 2011, I would not be sharing any of these stories with you today – Check out my blog post:  True Blue

 

Eating healthy and nutritious foods is a way of life for me now, not just a passing fad  Check out any one of my blog post series:  My Clean Living Life – Part V

 

Working out at The Edge in Hamden is a great stress reliever for sure but it also serves the dual purpose of keeping me physically fit – Check out my blog post:  Pit Bull or Poodle?

 

And participating in seasonal sports and/or activities on a regular basis brings me right back to my childhood as my parents were always good about keeping all 7 of us Hollis kids busy in a good way – Check out my blog post:  Ski Date

 

Having good friends to lean on during a major illness (remember that old saying about the fact that you don’t know who your real friends are until you encounter a major illness) rang so true for me.  Also, making new friends as a direct result of my Cancer experience was humbling to say the least Check out my blog post: Friends are like jewels…

 

Family is crucial and I honestly don’t know what I would have done without the love and support of my father and my siblings during this trial – Check out my blog post: Anniversary

 

And finally,  growing up in a religious household made all of the difference in the world in terms of how I viewed my illness and how I responded to it – Again, check out my blog post:  A Place of Desert…(almost) 4 years cancer free  Having faith and a church home (for me, Christian Tabernacle Baptist Church in Hamden, CT) was completely necessary for my sanity and my survival.  I was then and continue now to be truly blessed.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL

 

Bowling Date

I remember the first time I picked up a bowling ball.  I was 11 years old and in 5th grade at Mary Morrison Elementary School in Groton, CT.   Someone in my classroom was joining a league at the local bowling alley and I thought it might be fun to give it a try.   I had just finished up with Judo for the year and was looking for a new activity.  So I joined the league and have been bowling off and on ever since.

Back in the day bowling alleys were dark, musty, smoky places with beat up old pins, wooden lanes and loud, piped in music.

When I bowled back in the day, you really had to know a little something something about the game because you were truly on your own when it came to scoring and keeping track of your pins.   To this day I’m quite sure I gypped myself and my teammate out of points due to sheer ignorance.  Plus, quite honestly, focusing on keeping track of the score took most of the fun out of the game.

Conversely, what I like today about the modern bowling alleys (outside of the fact that they are both glamorous and sexy) is that everything is electronic and therefore soooooooo easy (smile).   Music videos play on large wall areas in between the lanes.  The lanes are now synthetic (low maintenance!) and feature automatic scoring systems which take the guesswork out of fully knowing the game.   At these modern bowling alleys you simply put on your bowling shoes,  enter your name(s) in the keypad of your assigned lane, take your photo(s) with the built-in camera and (this is optional) sign onto your social media account(s).  By the way I tried signing onto my social media account and did not like this feature as it felt too intrusive as every spare, strike or pin I knocked over was instantaneously posted to my Facebook timeline so I shut it off…At the end of your games a tally of you and your bowling party’s scores are handed to you.  Easy Breezy!

Today bowling alleys are sleek and modern and easy to navigate

There’s even a snack bar with real food if you get hungry, an arcade if your kids need more stimulation, a bar for adult beverage recreation and a lounge featuring flat screen TVs.

I also like the fact that it’s a great way to spend quality time with family and/or friends.  And it’s fun!

Here’s the best part:  Check your Groupon app as there’s almost always a Groupon for bowling and shoe rentals at a location near you.  For example:  Two games of bowling for 4 people with shoe rentals included is just $25 dollars — you know how much I love Groupons :))  A real bargain compared to a lot of other entertainment options today…You’re welcome!

 

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL

 

Made of Wood…

I’m listening to a ’70s station on the Sirius radio the other day and one of my favorite songs by The Dramatics comes on, “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get,” and it really got me thinking…

 

They don’t make music like they used to…

 

It also served to remind me that I grew up in a time when records were made of vinyl and album covers (LP or “long playing” covers) were a small piece of art.  Records (disc formats: 33s, 45s and 78 RPMs) were played on boxy turntables back in the day and we even owned one that had a needle that needed a penny on top of it just to keep it stable (smile) and they were affordable!  A 45 single could run you somewhere between 75 cents to one dollar and a whole album (LP) could run from eight to ten dollars… Also, your favorite song wasn’t as accessible as it is today.  There was no Google or other search engines to go to when you just had to hear your song.  You actually had to wait and hope the DJ would play it on the radio or better yet, your parents owned the record so you could play it at your leisure.

 

I loved Saturdays though because although we did not have YouTube, what we did have featured a lot of Rhythm & Blues & Soul music all in one place.   It was called Soul Train (the musical variety show on TV).  It was the center of my world back then and my show!  I planned my Saturdays around it.

 

 

I marveled at the dancing, the fashions, the too-easy-to-solve word puzzles, and Don Cornelius’s ability to use his charismatic personality to captivate audiences each and every week.

 

I wanted his job, as it seemed like it was more a labor of love than a daily grind.

 

At any rate, the 70’s were a special time, there were no smart phones for people to listen to music out of and dare I say, we were far less distracted as a result.   Plus, music seemed to possess real meaning, as we sang along to heartfelt lyrics which oftentimes conjured up deep thoughts.

 

‘Watcha See Is Watcha Get’ by The Dramatics is just one example from the ’70s of a heartfelt song with meaning.   As it turned out, it was far more than a song lyric, it was a way of life for me, a pre-teen coming of age in the small town of Groton, CT…

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL

 

 

Hot Mess!

What is it about hair stylists, hairdressers, salon owners, etc. that make you want to spill your guts?!?   I’ve been going to one or another hair salon in Connecticut now for years (at least 30 years) and I must say, some of my deepest and most meaningful conversations have been with my stylist.  It’s almost like something happens to me when I sit in her (their) chair, it’s almost like all of my inhibitions go out the door and what’s left is talk, raw talk.  I can’t explain it, I just know that I feel the need to share and share BIG…

I came of age in the early 70s  (pre-Afro days in our house) so natural hair and afro picks were not in yet for the Hollis girls – press and curls were –  and we were truly a product of our environment…I’m the one with the yellow blouse and matching yellow headband…my oldest sister Dana was missing in this picture.

FullSizeRender-2.jpg
L to R – 4 of 5 Hollis girls (Dana is missing in this picture):  Lajeune, Joandra, Elena and Casandra in the rear

 

Again, I am one of 7 children (5 girls; 2 boys) in a family of 9 and the baby girl at that, so my earliest memory of getting my ‘hair did’ was not going to a salon (we didn’t have that luxury) but waiting most of a Satur(day) in anticipation…You see, on Saturdays the Hollis kitchen became a makeshift hair salon.  One sister after another (the oldest to the youngest) sat in the kitchen chair closest to the oven so my mother could easily place the hot comb back and forth (from hair to electric eye).   My two brothers didn’t know how good they had it!  They had no clue…I can still recall smelling Blue Magic hair dressing and fried hair all day long…Being the baby girl, I was always the last to go which meant that by the time my mother got to me she was not only tired, but cranky.  And God forbid someone called on the telephone during my time in the chair!  I was in for some neck burnings then!   Consequently, I do not have fond memories of this thing:

 

 

So, fast forward to today, one of my favorite ways to pamper myself  is to get my hair done once a week.  Elite Hair Salon in Westville, CT is my salon of choice now and they come highly recommended (smile).

 

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL

 

Put your slippers on…

As I’ve gotten older,  I’ve truly started to take note of the things that make me happy and relaxed and conversely, stay away from the things that make me sad and/or stressed out.  It sounds simple in theory but in practice, not so much…

At any rate today it’s the little things that make me happy and/or relaxed.   And they don’t necessarily involve a lot of money.  Here are a list of them:

  • Sleeping in on Saturdays – Growing up Hollis, my father,  Jonie B., would not allow his kids to sleep in on the weekends – he was a “military man” and sleeping in was a sign of laziness…conseqently, this is a big deal to me today…you notice I only mentioned one weekend  day…

 

 

  • Taking long bubble baths on the weekends –  Growing up Hollis and being one of 7 children, I used to have to share my bubble baths with my sister Elena to not only save water, but time…today I consider a bubble bath strictly “me time” and a luxury not enjoyed enough…

 

 

  • Burning incense and candles – I love to burn things in a safe way (smile) so burning candles and incense has a unique way of relaxing me when I’m feeling stressed – watching a fire burn in an indoor fireplace or an outdoor fire pit also does the trick

 

 

  • Eating comfort “snacky” foods – Growing up Hollis and being a “daddy’s girl” I used to pop “corn” for my father and watch Football with him so this snack has always held a special meaning to me

 

 

  • Reading a good book on a rainy day – There’s something about curling up on the comfy chair with a good book and cup of hot tea on a rainy day…

 

 

  • Spending quality time at the beach -Water has always had a way of relaxing me and making me feel at peace with the world – I grew up in the small Shoreline town of Groton, CT where we had 5 beaches so I spent a lot of time with my siblings at the beach or the public pools

 

 

  • Getting pampered – feet, hair, nails, etc. – love to have someone else that I’m paying do these things for me – did not know that luxury growing up so it feels extra special now…

 

 

  • Watching a good movie at the movie theater complete with snacks – my late mother Jean used to drop her 7 children off at the movie theater on Saturdays armed with snacks so going to the movies will always hold a special place in my heart

 

  • Spending time outdoors during the warmer months – Living in New England and dealing with such changeable weather, I love being outdoors when the weather is nice and I fully take advantage of it.  Whether it is playing sports or just lounging around, the sun becomes my friend

 

 

  • And finally, putting on my “jammies” and slippers as soon as I get home from a long stressful day at work – I work in a super stressful, highly competitive industry so as soon as I get home I take a nice hot shower and put on my “jammies” and slippers – – I can still hear my late mother Jean’s voice telling me,  ‘put your slippers on’ after an insanely busy day and miraculously, it worked!

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL