Kevin slowly, but surely, continued to thrive, but with the problem of colic and our spoiling him life was somewhat hectic for a year, or so. There was never a time that he fell asleep without being rocked until around the age of three. One night Walter was rocking him at bedtime when Kevin looked up at his father and said, "Daddy, I don't want to be rocked anymore." He climbed down off his father's lap and toddled of to his bed, never asking to be rocked again.
The next few years traveled along fairly uneventful. We'd moved out of our small house on Alameda St. into a new and larger house on the corner of Sharon Dr. and La Verne Ave. Our original house on Alameda had cost $ 4500 to build, and we sold it nine years later for $ 8000. The new house was priced at $ 16, 500, and when we sold it some ten years later we received $ 22,500 for it.
I don't think I'm stretching the truth when I say that we truly enjoyed Dave's and Dick's teenage years. Of course, there were a few snags along the way, but the dread that most parents face that period of their lives wasn't our lot, and we were most grateful for that. We were stricter than most, but the boys didn't seem to mind, and we did try very hard to be fair when it became necessary to discipline. Walter was an especially good father, I believe; much more patience than I had, and with our united front the problems were few and far between, which certainly contributed to a pleasant and happy family life. Walter had decided it was time to get out of the grocery business when his partner of many years prepared to retire. It was becoming increasingly difficult for independent markets to compete with the large chains, and the prospect of continuing the business without his partner didn't seem a good idea. (It proved to be a good idea after viewing the decision years later.) (selling out) So, we talked it over and made the decision to sell out, and Walter soon began a training program in tabulating-computer machines at a school in Long Beach. It was to be an expensive year, living on our savings for that period of time, but how lovely it was to have weekends free for the first time since our marriage. We especially enjoyed going to the track meets on Saturdays that Dick and Dave were competing in.