I think Daddy was fairly lenient when Bill & I were young but he had grown up in an extremely strict home and had seen things done in his teens that were not allowed for him and he abhorred those activities. Dancing, card playing of any sort, swimming au natural (which I agree with), and other activities were not allowed - period. Therefore, when Bill & I were teenagers, he did not want us to pursue that type of ‘fun’. He had learned while in the U.S. Army that not ALL card playing was gambling. Therefore, he and Mother played rummy on a regular basis with their friends. Bill & I were allowed to play board games, especially Monopoly, with our friends. When it came to dancing, Daddy was not going to allow it. We explained that a lady from the church was chaperoning at the Youth Center and never let kids leave and stay outside. With Mother’s explaining how important it was for us to fellowship with our friends, even dancing in a chaperoned place and with rules that were kept, it should be allowed. He was even asked to go with us, but he did allow us to go with our friends.
Mother was the disciplinarian for me when I was young, Daddy mostly handled the discipline for Bill. They had rules and both were adamant that those rules were to be obeyed. The one thing Daddy was strict about and he would slap you with whatever he had in his hand if he heard you do it, was that we respect Mother with every breath. We were NOT to argue with her, sass her or in ANY way be rude to her. She was our MOTHER and was to be respected in EVERY instance. He respected his mother in that manner and we respected our Mother the same way.
So whichever way it was – strict or not – is a question for my grandchildren to decide.
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