Skip to main content

31 Days: What I Was I Like as a Child


Today's topic comes from the prompts given by Crystal Stine at Write 31 Days: What were you like as a child? I think this photo of me pretty much sums it up. Sassy, defiant, constant motion. It looks like I may have cut my own bangs so I probably should add mischievous to that list. I often say that my parents were very brave to have a second child given the challenge that I, their first born, was.

I didn't nap, no matter how much my mother rocked me. As soon as she would lay me down, I would pop out of bed and beat her back to her seat in the den. My parents have a home movie of me yelling, "NO" at the camera. When asked why I was so upset, my mother replied, "We were probably trying to get you to do something you didn't want to do." My parents would see that face a lot when I was growing up.

My sister and I defy every description of birth order. I am the rebel who has made all the mistake, she is the responsible one who never gave my parents a bit of trouble, even though she is the younger sibling. When I was in first grade, the school felt I should be put into a different class, one that was a closer match to my abilities. I was not happy about the change. I loved my teacher and my classmates. Once I was in my new class, I asked if I could go to the bathroom and I didn't return. They found me standing outside of my old class, listening in from the hallway. They decided to leave me where I was and wait to promote me the next year. This would be a pattern throughout my life - fighting against what was best for me in favor of what I wanted.

This is one of the things I struggle with the most. I want to remain that little girl, arms folded, refusing to do what I don't want to do. But whenever I do take that step of faith and do what my heart is leading me to do, I am always glad I did it. The feeling of satisfaction in those acts of compliance is much greater than in the screaming no at anyone who will listen, mostly at God these days. Thankfully, I am spending less and less time standing on the outside, wanting to go back than I used to. I love the spunk of that little girl in the photo and I hope I never lose that. I'm just glad that the years have taught me to accept the encouragement of those who see the good in me that I don't always see myself and to stretch myself beyond what I want to what is best.

But I still refuse to take naps.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Five Minute Friday: Roots

Lisa-Jo Baker (lisajobaker.com) hosts a weekly event on her blog called "Five Minute Friday". The rules are 1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. 2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.. So here's my first try at this. Today's topic was Roots. Roots – I think about my grandparents who lived on a farm until my grandfather’s diabetes worsened and they moved to a town with a hospital nearby. My father still says he wished he could have kept that farm. I think of my grandmother who was a widow for 20 years. Every year she would stand over my PaPa’s grave, wishing she was with him. I think of my parents, a product of those grandparents, how hard my father worked to put 2 girls through...

Five Minute Friday: Expect

Five Minute Friday is a writing event that has writers spending five minutes writing on the same topic and then sharing them at  http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ . This week's word is Expect.   I'm going to admit something. When I pray, I expect God to do what I ask. I'd like to think that is a sign of faith but in some ways, it is a sign of arrogance, like I know what is best for me. I picture him up in heaven like the above photo, signalling to the angels and saying like a benevolent Captain Picard, "Make it so." I never stop to think about what's right or worse, what's God's will, I just ask away and expect to be granted my wish. I guess that means I see God as more of a fairy godmother than my heavenly father. It doesn't matter if it is little things like, "Please make the bathtub faucet quit leaking" or "Please make my aunt well." I expect my prayer to be answered. And for things like "Please send...

Five Minute Friday: Time

Five Minute Friday is a writing event that has writers spending five minutes writing on the same topic and then sharing them at http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ . This week's word is Time. Sometimes time feels like this, like we are in it. Standing inside it, watching life pass by. It is so easy to get stuck in a time - in our pain, in our hurt. We hear the ache tick away in our head like a giant clock. Time, instead, is a gift. More time with family, more time to accomplish goals, more time to see the world. When you are hurting, it seems like time takes forever. One day turns into another day, turns into another day. When we hate a job, the five days of time that make up a work week seem to go on forever. But those five days are also a gift. Because these days, a job is not a guarantee. I want to see time as gift, not as a chore. I want to be on the other side of it, wishing there was more of it. Making the most of every hour, minute, and second instead of...