Childhood Memories

me in 1958

I got some big chuckles out of Megan's answers to these questions. I decided to try them myself. It was fun to try to remember these things! If you're interested, try these questions yourself (just let me know, so I can read yours).

1. In what organizations and extracurricular activities did you participate? Brownies, Girl Scouts, MYF (Methodist Youth Fellowship), GAA basketball (I'm pre-Title 9), pep band, marching band, French Club, FTA (Future Teachers of America)

2. What tokens of your childhood do you wish you had saved? My teddy bear! When I was 12 years old, we moved to a new town. I decided I was too old to keep a teddy bear. I walked to the alley where our garbage was piled up, and I put my teddy bear on top of the pile. I walked away, and turned to look at teddy one last time. That sad moment is frozen in my mind, and I WISH I HAD WALKED BACK AND SAVED TEDDY! Now I know I was NOT too old for a teddy bear. I still remember clearly what he looked like and felt like.

3. Did you enjoy physical education in school? NO WAY! In junior high we had to wear ugly navy blue one-piece uniforms. I felt so embarrassed about those uniforms. I was ALWAYS one of the last people picked for teams. I sucked at every sport, and/or I day-dreamed while things were being explained, then the teacher would ask me to do it first, and I'd have NO idea what I was supposed to be doing. When we played softball, I was afraid of catching the ball, and I couldn't hit the ball. I didn't have enough stamina for running. I was shy, awkward, and stiff as a board. Showers were required, and I was very shy about being seen - I was super skinny and a "late bloomer" if you know what I mean. I didn't have any success at a sport until GAA Basketball during my senior year. Then I was just OK, never great.

4. What scary creatures did you think were in your childhood bedroom? Once I spent the entire night sleeping curled up into the top third of my bed. I was convinced that if I stretched out my legs, I would find snakes at the end of my bed. I was very sore in the morning from keeping myself scrunched up all night. I also used to think there were scary creatures under my bed. But the snake night was the worst.

5. Describe the first time you were left home alone. No memory of this. I was the youngest of 4, so there was always someone older who could stay with me.

6. Describe your first punishment for doing something bad. First punishment? Who knows! I remember one time I must have been dawdling when it was bedtime. My dad gave me a hard spank which also kind of pushed me toward the steps to go upstairs. I remember feeling surprised, like it came out of the blue. Now as a parent I know it surely didn't. I once mentioned this memory to my dad, and he felt bad about it. I'm sorry I mentioned it to him.

7. What was the most difficult thing to overcome from your childhood? Feeling "not good enough." I was the youngest and was shy and had successful siblings to whom I could never measure up. I always felt like I wasn't quite good enough. I didn't start to realize I was a decent person in my own right until I went off to college where there were no siblings to compare myself to.

8. What details do you remember of your childhood bedroom(s)? A-town 1: M- and I shared a big room that had lots of room to play. There was even a couch in our room! Once I pretended to fall asleep on the couch so my dad could pick me up and lift me into my bed (I always loved that). We had a big, walk-in closet that was fun to hide in. We had windows with shades with those little round circle things on the end of the pull cords. I liked the texture of the fabric that wound around the circle things. A-town 2: M- and I shared a room again. I think the walls were painted yellow. It was in that room that I once watched it snow on Memorial Day. M's side of the room was perfectly neat. Mine was a mess -- until older sis went off to college, and M- moved into her room. Then I had the yellow room to myself, and I turned into a neatnik. It was a miracle! I remember going into my closet and pretending a dress on the hanger was a guy I had a crush on, and I slow danced with my dress.

9. Are there foods, smells, flavors, sounds, songs, etc. that bring back memories of your childhood? The Beatles (their early years), "Help Me Rhonda," cinnamon rolls and red jello with bananas in it, Beechnut Gum, taffy pulls, musty smell of my Grandma's detached garage, moth-ball smell in Aunt Margaret's attic, plasticy smell of a new doll, real Christmas trees (we always use a fake tree now)

10. What fads did you embrace while growing up? dancing the Twist, hula-hoops, hip-huggers, bell-bottoms, bra-slips, shirts that snapped at the crotch, African dashikis