You Are Out!

For part of the school year there were 6 girls in my grade. One of the girl's parents were divorced. She spent 6 months with one parent and the other 6 months with the other. We were in the second grade. 

As I look back at that time I wonder about the dynamics of it. Always two of us were "out". We were not included in any games. we were not allowed to sit with them. We were completely shunned. It was horrible to be one of the two. And it hurt our feelings.

Then suddenly we would be welcomed into the group. Two different girls were "out".  We were just as cruel as they had previously been to us.

It was not the same girls any of the times. We each had our turns on both sides. And believe it or not other than this behavior we were all nice girls. Why did we do this?

Cooking On The Ceiling

I learned to cook when I was very young. It was the way little girls were brought up then. That was when there were not mixes for anything. Everything was made from scratch.

I learned that a teaspoon of something would fit in a little cup made of the palm of my hand. A tablespoon of something is larger spot of my hand. I often cook using a bit of this and a bunch of that. It is easier than making a dirty measuring cup.

My mother and I cooked together often. And there were times I did the cooking for the family. Mom was often tired because of taking care of babies. I enjoyed it.

After I was older I began to teach my children to cook. I had a sister-in-law who was raised in an Indian school. She could cook a few very basic things. She asked me how to cook a few more things. Of course I was happy to oblige.

Her oldest daughter wanted to learn how to make home-made biscuits. She and I always had such fun together. Making biscuits was no different. 

We were serious cooks and biscuits are easy. Somehow we ended up making a huge mess. Easy enough to clean up... until I noticed that somehow the ceiling was covered with flour. 

Now we had not been throwing flour. We had not done anything to put flour on the ceiling but there it was.

Here Chick Chick Chick

My nephew loved his chickens. He fed and watered them. He was a good chicken owner.

There was one ever so small problem. He was the only one who could see them.

When we would all go to the mall we usually met at a little restaurant there for a quick lunch before we went home.

My nephew would seat himself and pull his chickens from his pocket. Then he would sprinkle salt from the shaker onto the table. He would open a small container of coffee creamer. His chickens had food and water. 

We always left a good tip. We still worried about the extra mess waitresses had to clean after he gathered his chickens to take them home. They said they did not mind because they enjoyed the chickens too.

The restaurant also had a nice children's dessert. It was a dish containing one scoop of ice cream, candies to make a clown face, and an ice cream cone for a hat.

My nephew cried because he would not eat a clown. The waitresses had learned this so they served all the ingredients in separate dishes. He happily ate it all that way.

But what happened to the chickens?

One day while playing in my mother's back yard my nephew decided to show the chickens to his cousin (my niece). She looked at them with interest. Suddenly she snatched them and noisily ate them all!

His chickens were gone. I guess he did not want to take a chance with new ones.

Temper, Temper

As long as I remember my mother taught us not to fight. She was like all mothers... no fighting means less chance of an injured child.

Of course there were still fights. Brothers against brothers, sisters against sisters, and brothers against sisters. We were normal children after all. 

At times there were confrontations with other children. Someone would say or do something that would tick off the other. It happens.

Mom used those times to teach us. Instead of saying, "Use your words," she would tell us that "When you lose your temper you have lost control of the situation." Think about it. Even in a fist fight the person who is wildly swinging out of anger will probably get a black eye from a single punch from a person in control.

Even in a debate it will be the person who keeps a cool head who will win. They are in control.

The older I get the more wisdom I see in my mother's teachings. I tried to teach my children the same lesson. Their grandmother also told them the same.

The idea does necessarily work at first. My children also had a hot-headed father. However they now try to teach their children and grandchildren to not lose their tempers. The lesson took.

Now this does not mean you must abandon your feelings. You can still defend yourself if need be. It simply means you can be in control of the situation. 

Remember if you lose your temper you lose control.

Switch

My 10-year-old niece was diagnosed with a thyroid problem. She was growing too quickly. There were other problems also. Her mother took her to the doctor and after testing her thyroid was the culprit.

As doctors always do they tried a variety of treatments. None were working.

Finally they decided to try radiation. She did not have check into the hospital. I believe she took pills.

They were told that she should not be around any babies or to sit close to anyone for more than a minute or so. Of course everyone had a good time teasing her about having "cooties".

The really funny part is that every time she would walk past the television the channels would change. They had a lot of fun having her walk back and forth to see what shows would come on.

There is a happy ending. Her medical condition is fine. She stopped growing. She is a bit taller than her sisters but her father is quite tall.

Lights On

My daughter-in-law and I were sitting on her front steps. It was a pleasant summer evening.

We were just talking about day-to-day nothings as we watched the kids playing.  My sons were all working on a car belonging to one of them.

Suddenly all three of my boys stopped what they were doing. They closed the hood of the car and put all their tools away. They looked almost like zombies as they made their way up the steps and into the house.

My daughter-in-law and I watched as they silently walked past us and into the house. We knew the car was not yet fixed. What on earth?

Then I began to laugh. The streetlights had just turned on. I taught my children when they were small that they were to come inside when the streetlights came on. It was a habit that stayed with them.

A Little Off The Side

I used to take my boys to the barber college to get their hair cut. The students who cut the hair were similar to a resident in the hospital. They had completed their studies and needed experience. There were experienced barbers on the floor with them in case of problems.

One time my youngest son was sitting politely in his chair. Suddenly he yelled. His barber clipped a little chunk out of his ear! 

His haircut was free that day.

By the time he was due for another cut he was willing to try again. He sat quietly in his chair again. And once more he was injured. 

This time there were no pieces of his ear missing. He did have a small scraping type of cut. Another free haircut.

My son was really angry at the two men who had cut him. He said he would never go back.

The fact was that another haircut day came.

As we walked into the barber college my son declared that he wanted a woman barber. Since the injuries came from men barbers he thought a woman might be more careful.

He was right. No injuries that day. He insisted on a woman every time after that.

Memorize

My second-grade teacher recognized that I had a good memory. She encouraged me to develop my memory by giving me things to memorize.

Several times during the school year there was a program presented to the parents and anyone else who wished to attend. It was not a large school and every class was expected to have an offering. It might be a song, or dance, or short play,

As I said it was a small town. For some reason there were more boys than girls attending classes. If one classroom needed girls to fill in for their portion of the program girls were recruited from another room. We had so much fun.

Another fun thing was that I was always given poems to recite. I memorized poems like The Song of Hiawatha, Paul Revere's Ride, The Owl and the Pussycat, The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat, and Little Orphant Annie. Mom also had me memorize The Raven. She was a big fan of alliteration. All of these are fun poems for many reasons. 

Imagine my delight when I learned that my oldest niece was learning Little Ophant Annie in school. 

These are all great poems to read to children. Although you may want to consider the age of your child for Little Orphant Annie. It is just a bit scary.