As I remember it my childhood was a time of dualities. Being carefree vs. worries about things I didn''t quite understand. I was the type of child who sat under the table and listened to the grownups talk. I didn't want to miss anything. As a result, I worried about things that should have been outside of my realm of care. I was a dreamer who was also the eldest child so I was expected to act responsibly. I was fearful when I should have been fearless. I was chubby and had wavy hair ( I didn't fit the beauty benchmarks of my youth). I loved to read and lived inside of my books. I wasn't mathematical and was terrorized by my grammar school math teacher. She was mean! I didn't feel very good about myself.
I was challenged by this post to think back to when I was 9 years old and come up with my own 9 yr wish list.
- Mother will only buy me cute shoes from now on-no more sensible oxford lace ups.
- My local library will stock up on all the books I love so that I can read all of the Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and Trixie Belden books ever written.
- I will get to ride my bike in the street and my little sister will have to wait until she is 9 to be allowed to do so. (not when she is 7 when I had to wait until I was 9)
- I will be allowed to purchase more Popsicles from the ice cream truck.
- I get my own bedroom, no more sharing.
- Never ever never again will I have to eat squash or boiled okra!
- No more being sent to take a bath in an scary empty house while the rest of the family sits out on the front porch. (this scared me so much that I whistled the whole time I was in there by myself, I whistled because I imagined that if I stopped they would know something was wrong and they would rush in to rescue me from unknown terror)
- I will be allowed to shave my hairy legs and wear hose instead of stupid white ankle socks.
What about you? How do you remember your childhood? What type of rules would you have written for yourself?
Steviewren, how touching. I see you were a complex, sensitive, highly intelligent child, with all the hallmarks of the eldest child.
ReplyDeleteYour yearnings to make your own decisions and to do grown up things....sigh...can't we all relate to that.
My 9 year old wish list...gee my memory is not as good as yours....but when I was nine, we moved houses from one part of town to another, it was a big change; different school.
My wishes, aside from wishing that we didn't have to move, were likely the ones I had all through my childhood. I wish my parents would let me have a dog, I wish I had more dolls and more doll clothes, real doll clothes, not the ill-fitting ones I made out of little bits of spare fabric. I wish I had my own room and I wish I wasn't sent down to the basement when I was bad. The basement terrified me every bit as much as bathing alone in the house must have terrified you, Steviewren!
I wish I had more pencil crayons and I wish I had monkey bars in my attic, and I wish I knew if that cute French-Canadian boy Marcel, who lived down the street, liked me. I wish he did like me!
Hey...hi...I'm BACK! Okay if I stay for a cup of tea? We have so much to catch up on. As much as I dearly love my family, I can't believe how much I missed my bloggy friends. What have I missed over at Stevie's nest?
ReplyDeleteMy nine year old list was identical to yours, with the exception of the scary baths. I had to share a room, too, among other things and hated it!
Are you showing us a ring on your finger in the picture? I had a ring that I loved when I was nine, too.
Nine years old. Third grade is what I will base my list on.
ReplyDelete1. I always wanted to be blonde, my cousins had long blonde hair.
2. I would of liked to have been named Tina or Tracy...not Denise
3.) I also was a little chubby, compared to my blonde haired cousins.
4.) My mom sewed alot of my clothes, more store bought clothes would of been nice
I am going to get a bit mushy here.
I was for the most part a happy kid at nine years old. If truth be told I can only remember being yelled at once by my parents. I was never sent to my room. We never really had extras but we never went without. It was a case of not knowing what I did not have. Okay, I will say this I now have blonde hair and I am thinner than my cousins. Strange how somethings work out!
I hope this does not sound rude.
I find that when you type things that sometimes the way it looks is not how you intend it to be.
Have a wonderful weekend.
denise
Everyone, isn't it funny how similar our wishes were. Simple wishes too; our own rooms, to not be scared, to look more like everyone else, to be liked, basically to have what we didn't have. My wish list today would be strangely like my nine year old wish list. Such is human longing I suppose?
ReplyDeleteLavinia, Marcel sounds cute..whatever happened to him?
Willow, I had to look at the picture for a while to remember about the ring. This picture was taken on my 9th birthday. I finally remembered the little ring, it was heart shaped. I gave it to a boyfriend and never got it back. Did you note my bouffant hair-do Barbie? I still have her.
Denise, I always thought that my sister got the better name and I was envious of that. Her middle name was Dawn and mine was Wren...who ever heard of that for a name? In fact, I was in high school before I ever met another Stephanie. I was in my mid to late 20s before parents began to name their children Stephanie.
Thanks for playing everyone.
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ReplyDeleteI would of loved the name Stephanie. I knew a Stephanie in junior high. I think she is the only one I know. I like the name Wren. My niece's daughters have unusual middle names Storm and Rain. They were given those names by their father. I like them.
ReplyDelete