Kevin's Watch

I think what affected me the most in my childhood (from what little I can remember of it) was all the fun-yet-educational stuff my family did together. During our vacations, we'd travel the US (and sometimes Canada) and camp along the way, at first in tents and later in a pop-up camper. We went on nature walks. We went to museums. We joined book clubs at the library. We did science experiments in the kitchen or backyard. We wrote and illustrated books. We went to plays. We went to scout camp (where I learned to sail solo). We played instruments in youth orchestras and fiddling groups. We did the "fun" classes at summer school. We went geocaching (a high-tech version of a scavenger hunt). We went to concerts. We made elaborate sculptures out of toilet paper tubes. We went to the zoo. We went on picnics. We tag-team biked 100 miles in one day (that was part of a Father's Day gift--long story). We made everything from ice cream to bread to clothing to playground equipment. And we somehow did all these things without spending a lot of money.
Because of all this, I know a little bit about a lot of things, and I'm rarely bored because I know many inexpensive ways in which to entertain myself. I'm only bored when I choose to be. Also, I think learning is one of the most exciting ways I can spend my time--which is part of why I decided to become a teacher. The family travel gave me the desire to visit many places. I think that without the "fun learning" experiences I had as a child/teenager, I would not be where I am today, and I likely would not be doing what I'm doing.

Menolly wrote:I guess losing my mom at 21 and Daddy at 27, both to different forms of cancer, were the biggest formative "event." Mom was originally diagnosed when I was 14, and although she went into remission after a double masectomy, going through high school swapping the scars on her flat chest with iodine will affect someone, you know?

And yet, it was almost freeing when mom passed. But I know I lack in social graces, and I sincerely think mom being ill throughout my high school years and passing as I entered my twenties may have a little to do with that.

My mom passing has also been a turning point in my life. There are times, especially when I'm alone, when I feel so utterly and completely lost without her.

ah...

But you know when you listen with a stilled mind and an open heart, that you are never actually "without her," Brooke.

Fire Daughter wrote:

Menolly wrote:I guess losing my mom at 21 and Daddy at 27, both to different forms of cancer, were the biggest formative "event." Mom was originally diagnosed when I was 14, and although she went into remission after a double masectomy, going through high school swapping the scars on her flat chest with iodine will affect someone, you know?

And yet, it was almost freeing when mom passed. But I know I lack in social graces, and I sincerely think mom being ill throughout my high school years and passing as I entered my twenties may have a little to do with that.

My mom passing has also been a turning point in my life. There are times, especially when I'm alone, when I feel so utterly and completely lost without her.

There are times when I think about talking to Furls and I know just what she'd say. That was one great thing about her: her purity, her unflagging optimism and interest in this world's improvement and good. Not her exact words, mind: I just know the spirit or emotion of how she'd respond. She had a great sense of humor too.

I can only imagine the depth of that loss, Fire Daughter, and how irrepressible it must feel at times, but as Menolly said--your mom is still with you.

Menolly wrote:...going through high school swapping the scars on her flat chest with iodine will affect someone, you know?

Oh, Menolly hun.... I just saw this and imagined that and was stunned. Yes, I really think that would affect someone. At least a little bit.

Fire Daughter wrote:My mom passing has also been a turning point in my life. There are times, especially when I'm alone, when I feel so utterly and completely lost without her.

My mom was... not someone who showed nearly so much of her soul, but losing her really changed things for me. Up until that point, I had LOVED leaping up out of bed first thing in the morning as soon as I woke; after she had died, many times when I'd wake, I wouldn't want to face the day. Moms are a precious resource.

Strange wonder though; my sweet mother-in-law lost her mom to cancer during her college years - just like me - and having this in common is just one more piece of the bond we share.


Auleliel- your description of your childhood inspires me to think more about the "family culture" I'm building for my kids. When I was growing up, my family, too, did a whole lot without having to spend a lot of money.

My father had some rather colorful friends. Once when I was 8 or 9 I went fishing with my father and his friend Tim. Tim brought a 2 liter diet 7up and a bottle of vodka and after a couple of hours Tim began to have trouble holding his liquor.....literally. Tim must have knocked over his vodka or diet 7up at least 20 times and each time it would roll down the bank and fall into the river and each time I would have to wade out into the river and retrieve it before it floated away.

Oh yeah... when I was about 8 years old, my dad followed the "rule" of "get rid of your house before you buy a new one," and we got rid of our home in the Dallas suburbs, then set out to buy a farm in Wisconsin...

We took off on a 2-car car-caravan through about 18 states in 18 months - staying in motels / hotels / short-term leasing a cabin, etc. Great Smoky Mountains of TN for a few months, Wisconsin for most of the summer/fall, then down to south TX for winter, back up to IL next spring, and house-hunting in OK and AR. Finally settled on a gorgeous farm in AR.

As mentioned before, my sis and I were homeschooled... most families REALLY couldn't pull off a journey like that. I seldom think about just how unlike "the way people usually do things" that traveling was.

High Lord Tolkien wrote:The details of my life are quite inconsequential... very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really. At the age of twelve I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum... it's breathtaking- I highly suggest you try it.

Naahhh Man - Tell us the interesting stuff!