Anonymous
When I was a kid I’d like
to say I was a little rambunctious (my Grandma’s words) but that is probably
not true I was probably a lot rambunctious. I was constantly moving, rarely
sitting and I never walked I always ran everywhere that I thought I should be.
Problem was that I always thought I should be somewhere else. Some things never
change.
I have no idea where all
this energy came from and still comes from but I am pretty sure my teachers and
my Mom grew tired of watching me flit about the room. My Grandmother used to
say “Someday you are going to wear yourself out and just drop”, so far she
has been wrong but I must admit some days now I find lying down comes easy. My
Mom had very interesting ways of trying to slow me or should I say us down, let
me jump in to say I was not the only rambunctious one in my family. Thinking
back I do not know how Mom dealt with all that constant running. I
know she had to be creative; I give her credit for that. She had one of many secret
weapons.
The first one I remember
was jigsaw puzzles, Mom would dump a huge million piece puzzle on the table and
make us sit around the kitchen table and “work on it”, I must tell you this was
a little table with at least six or more kids sitting around it in a crowded
little house with a kitchen window that looked out on to the yard and a tree
where I truly wanted to be. This would usually be on rainy day because as far
as I can remember we were never in the house when the weather was nice, which was
fine with me because that was where the work and noise lingered. Most times my
Mom would help us do the puzzle while tending to crying babies or cooking fried
bologna on the stove. Funny the things you remember, I can still imagine the
smell and taste of it smothered in ketchup, usually to cover its blackened
appearance and burned taste. I remember always needing to be free and running so
this puzzle thing always felt like torture to me. Some things never change.
I would watch my sister
Pearly sitting still working away with a huge smile on her face and I always
wondered how she could possibly be enjoying this sheer torture. I would give
her a kick under the table and she would scream resulting in our fighting and
Mom would have to intervene usually with a swat to the ear or moving one of us
to the other side of the table. I would again do the same thing to whoever was
lucky enough and happened to be sitting beside me. I knew eventually Mom would
grow tired of the fighting and tell me to go sit in the living room. Sometimes
this plan did not work, I think she figured me out and so I had to think of
something else. I would pick up one of those little pieces and stare at it for
a long time and then I would look over to perfect Pearly putting them together
so fast and I thought I would show her. I placed the piece in a spot that
looked right to me, I must admit with very little thought. Well of course it
did not fit so I proceeded to hammer it in with the palm of my hand. This is
the point where I must tell you we had to finish the puzzle before we could
leave the table and I just wanted to get it done. I hammered on it until Mom
let it be known and not very quietly, that this was not allowed. I picked it up
and tried it in another spot. I was getting frustrated by this time and
watching Pearly was certainly not helping. Smile smile.
After picking up piece
after piece and getting extremely bored and agitated I finally found that one
piece that would fit with just one minor alteration; I slid the piece under the
table on my lap and proceeded to rip the extra tab off. I slid it back from
under the table and just as I thought, it fit perfectly. Pearly started whining
to Mom about me wrecking the puzzle and I will not tell you how well that went
over. Your imagination can take over here I am not going to do all the work.
Thinking back Mom had many
great ideas about slowing me down but I was just not a puzzle person, I like to
think of myself as free thinker and never feeling those restraints of the word “normal”(whatever
that means) way of doing things. I also must say I probably would have gotten
away with it if Pearly was not so competitive and so darn good at jigsaw
puzzles and other puzzles. Some things never change.
Another secret weapon of
Mom’s was Monopoly, yes hours and hours of a game I found extremely boring and
torturous. I did everything I could to start a fight or get the Go to Jail card
just so I did not have to play. Now that I think of it my Mom tried everything
to curb my rambunctious behaviour or at least slow me down. I know Pearly is
still very good at puzzles and Monopoly but I can still “run” circles around
her. Some things never change.
Later
Ha your poor sister; you must have laughs about all those times at that table?
ReplyDeleteWhat great memories. I can remember doing some of those same things on a rainy day, including kicking my sister! I always preferred to be outside, too. Fun times~
ReplyDeleteha! i always wanted a sister!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! Your poor sister!
ReplyDeleteIf they had known of ADD back then... Lol. I was the naughty one in the family and still am, come to think of it.
ReplyDeleteThat is so funny you ripped the piece to make it fit! I never would've thought of doing that as a kid. Creative thinking!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't sit still, either. Never could see the point in jigsaw puzzles and my feet still fidget when I'm sitting down. Hyper? Ok.. so maybe a little... Thoroughly enjoyed your story!
ReplyDeletei hope people always describe you in that way!!
ReplyDeleteno other way to be b, even as an adult!! that's how i want to be remembered!!
Oh you must have been a handful!
ReplyDeleteYou make me laugh! I think I'm much more of a "Pearly"...I loved puzzles, and don't do so well with lots of commotion! Isn't it interesting how we're all so different!
ReplyDeleteLOL!! Poor sister.
ReplyDeleteWe all have our special abilities....
ReplyDeleteIs that photo from your "new" camera? I like it!!
ReplyDeleteSo this is what I missed not having siblings. You sound like a free spirit. Too cute!
ReplyDeleteWhat great memories you must have of your chilhood with all those siblings! I was always a quiet child, loved puzzles and monopoly, sewing and crafts. I have a very rambunctious granddaughter and she is a joy to be around. I wouldn't change her for the world!
ReplyDeleteMonopoly=Torture
ReplyDeleteYou are so right B! Some things will never change.
Thank you so much for this reminiscence of earlier days-I enjoyed it so very much! And I have two sisters of my own, so I understand Pearly perfectly well:)
You sound like my brother! Always causing a fight with me..and when I'd yell at Mom to make him stop, he'd say, "I'm not touching her." He would be touching me, but he'd be doing something that annoyed the heck out of me! I just found out a couple of years ago that my cousins always cheated at Monopoly and I never knew it! When our family played, I was the banker, when I was 18 I became a teller at a bank for ten years. hhmmmmmm.....
ReplyDeleteCindy Bee
Wonderful memories.
ReplyDeleteNow you would be dosed with some medicine to make you compliant in school and home.
i LOVED the peace and quiet of fixing picture puzzles with my dad and my sis and sometimes even my mom would join in. still love them. fixed one last winter all by myself. :)
ReplyDeleteI think you were one of those--ahem--undiagnosed "hyperactive" children. I'm glad such a thing was not heard of, then!
ReplyDeleteI like puzzles, but gave up Monopoly because it was so slow. And for the longest time I preferred to crochet because knitting took so long. I have more patience now, and I bet you do, as well!
Blessings!
Wonderful story ! I was the same at times then times I liked to just sit on my favorite old tree and sketch . I still can be rambunctious all though I find as I get older I am slowing down ! As A kid I got rid of some of my energy by doing chores on the farm , exploring the back woods or being with my horse . I to never have liked board games I got to bored lol ! Have a good day !
ReplyDeleteHaving read many of your posts I'm not surprised you were an overly active girl. You seem to have an abundance of energy. Age does tend to slow the body down somewhat and I have less drive than I used to.
ReplyDeleteI'm the opposite, I always loved to sit and read, do puzzles, and figure out problems. I don't think we did a lot of Monopoly, but I always loved games. I play Scrabble and Solitude on my computer. Not a whole lot of runaround energy here.
ReplyDeleteI am not a puzzle person either. I hate sitting and trying to find the right piece of the puzzle and... I don't like most board games.
ReplyDeleteWhat a funny family memory! Your mom had some good tricks up her sleeve for sure :) I've never really been into puzzles, so I probably would have pulled the same stunts you did!
ReplyDeletewhat a stinker you were! ha! our down time was cards; crazy 8's, canasta, oh and some i can't even come up with the titles of any more.
ReplyDeleteand my dad was a fried bologna eater! i always enjoy the little memories you end up digging out of my brain! :D
Ah the trouble we could have gotten into...seriously, im getting a passport.
ReplyDeletewith childhood behavior like that, how could we not have a wonderous time?
I would LOVE to hear Pearly's side of the story. :)
ReplyDeleteI think you hit the nail on the head when you say you were not competitive and your sister was. I don't have a competitive bone in my body...I just don't care who wins or finishes first. My husband is the same and I am glad about that...I have seen people get in actual arguements about a card game..chess game etc....I have seen a grown person crawl over 3 people on a couch to get a card she wanted...omgosh! Give me a free thinker any day..
ReplyDeleteButtons such wonderful memories. I have a little brother and there some moments that are just priceless.
ReplyDeleteOh Buttons, this post made me smile - you have some great memories :))
ReplyDeleteI also hated jigsaw puzzles and as for monopoly aaargh!!!
One person's fun is another person's boredom. Very well illustrated:)
ReplyDeleteLovely memories.
ReplyDeleteWe used to play games with friends all sitting around the kitchen table when first married. Hugs M xoxox
What great memories - I love how you remember so many details. Ah, fried bologna. My dad would fix it for breakfast sometimes and I loved it! Never smothered it in ketchup - ate it just the way it was. Bologna today doesn't buckle up like it used to and just doesn't taste the same. Probably a good thing!
ReplyDeleteSo, I'm guessing you don't have any interest in working 3-D puzzles today, huh?
ReplyDeleteGreat story. I could imagine you tearing the puzzle piece to make it fit. Monopoly? I think there's a reason the word is so similar to "monotonous".
Oh your poor mother!! LOL!!
ReplyDelete