Followers

About Me

My photo
NSW, Australia
I'm made it past 50! married for over half my life, have 3 kids all grown and I'm loving this part of my life.I was a nurse in my younger days but an unhealthy dose of rheumatoid arthritis put a damper on my career,so I'm at home with the internet.

Monday, June 6, 2011

RemeberREd-by heart

RemembeRED - By heart


I like the blog prompts, I don't always join in, preferring to read, but I'm in when there's something that catches my fancy.

There were many things I learned by heart during my childhood.

My name, I remember being very small and having to practice getting my tongue around all 3 syllables and then at school having to write it over and over again,I tried to cheat by drawing pictures instead but that got me the ruler across the knuckles,so practice I did. I hardly ever spell it wrong now.




Times tables, I still go through these in my head if I'm multiplying or dividing in my head....three times three is nine, three times four is twelve, three times five is fifteen...........seems like hours we did this for at school . We also had to have these:


Cunisaire blocks.These had a smell of their own and along ,plasticine and the old metho printing, and certain kinds of plastic ,these smells bring an immediate rush of childhood memory.

The way home from school. Not as easy as it sounds if you're a follower and not attentive. I had just turned 4 and itching to go to school with the big kids. I was allowed to walk to the corner with them,some 6 houses down ,usually there were a bunch of mums chatting in their dressing gowns watching the kids walk up the hill. This day there wasn't so I followed right behind , with the bigger kids saying, "go back,you'll get into trouble", "go back you'll forget the way home". HA! I knew better....I stood my ground...."No I won't" The big kids hurried, not wanting to get into trouble for taking me to school with them. I had to just about run to keep up, which is why when we got to the top of the hill and through the laneway I forgot to notice where the laneway was to go back home. I went right into the school , then the bell went and the kids disappeared. I headed back the way I came. And wandered up and down the street, peering in backyards,front yards looking for the hill.By this time I'd forgotten there was a laneway. Finally a nice lady found me and asked me the usual questions, my name?..... I just turned 4 and there were 3 syllables in it .My mums name.......oh..easy one...mummy! What does daddy call mummy.............mummy? where do you live? over there. Do you know where you live? In a house...it's white. the number? number? My mum appears fuming up the street .I can see the steam from her ears. Oh here's your mummy . Great. She was worried/livid. But calmed down on the walk home and mum taught me where I lived and my parents names for the next few weeks.



my phone number 520-0638 can I help you?

handclapping games : When Susie was a baby, a baby Susie was she went a cry, cry, cry, cry
When Susie was a toddler, a toddler Susie was she went a scribble, scribble, scribble, scribble

When Susie was a child, a child Susie was she went a 'whyyyyyy? whyyyyyy? whyyyyy? whyyyy?'

When Susie was a teenager, a teenager Susie was she went a 'ooh, ahh, I lost my bra, I left my knickers in me boyfriend's car'

When Susie was a married, a married Susie was she went a 'aahh, unnnnggggghh, aaaahhhhh, unnnnnngggggh'
When Susie was a mother, a mother Susie was she went a bake, bake, bake, bake

When Susie was a grandma, a grandma Susie was she went a knit, knit, knit, knit

When Susie was a skeleton a skeleton Susie was she went a
(silence)

and this one
Build a bonfire, build a bonfire
Put the teachers on the top
Put the schoolbooks in the middle
And burn the bloody lot

this one was a skipping rope rhyme :
Miss Suzie had a steamboat
The steamboat had a bell

Miss Suzie went to heaven
The steamboat went to...
Hello operator, please give me number 9
If you disconnect me
I'll kick your fat...
Behind the 'fridgerator
There was a piece of glass
Miss Suzie sat upon it
And cut her little...
Ask me no more questions
I'll tell you no more lies
The boys are in the bathroom
Zipping up their...
Flies are in the forest
Bees are in the park
Boys and girls like kissing in the...
Dark is like a movie
a movie's like a show
a show is like a TV screen and that is all
I know I know my ma
I know I know my pa
I know I know my sister with the 80 acre alligator bra.

and this

Down by the river, down by the sea,
Johnny broke a bottle and blamed it on me.
I told ma, ma told pa,
Johnny got a spanking so ha ha ha.

How many spankings did Johnny get?
1, 2, 3....



Other things are indelibly learned by heart too, forgetting your lunch means hunger till you get home.Consequences, the reason I remember to pay the electricity bill so I'm not sitting in the dark.
Windfalls are precious weather they be birthday or xmas gifts or 50c given by your pop for icecream and should be treasured not expected.
Sweets are sweet!
Except coffee flavoured lollies, they are disgusting unless they have changed in flavour since the 60's but i'm not game to find out.
One thing I had to unlearn:Things stay the same. My parents lived in the same house for 33years and I lived there till I left home and married.Only one Aunt died while I was a child and nothing really changed except she wasn't there any more.So I wasn't prepared for huge life changes as I've aged,loss of family members, remarriage of a parent ,children leaving home.

I think the things we learn as children really do stay with us and for me the more things change, I hark back to that time .It's very comforting to me that other people remember too and a great thing I take pleasure in is reconnecting with my first childhood friend. We "know" who we each are, in spite of what life has thrown at us and the changes in our lives and bodies,so while so many things have changed there is something that is constant, from "before".

anyhoo I remember all of that..but...has anyone seen my glasses???

9 comments:

  1. I remember many of the same things since I believe we are around the same age. Doesn't matter that I grew up in the Northeast of the US and you grew up in Australia, we are more alike than not.

    My parents lived in the same house from before I was born until I was in my LATE 30's! Hubby and I have moved quite a bit in our 30 years together.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love childhood memories that stick with you- it's amazing the things that leave impressions on you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those are great! I love the songs and the story about you getting lost on the way home from school. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. It is wonderful to have childhood friends. My father was in the army so three years was a long time for me to have a friend. I know I have different memories and got to travel but I would like to have someone who knew me when. Thanks for sharing yours.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ok my darling, this was an awesome post! And kids nowadays don't have to remember anything by heart which is why they can't do math...that's must my two cents.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, Bernie...

    In one post you made me think of so much...

    times tables. Oh yeah! Had so much trouble with them growing up, but once I got them down, they weren't too bad. Love the 7 X table for some reason. Easy to remember. In school we had a cheat sheet on a card so we could go through them and get them down pat. Can see it in my mind's eye.

    Jump rope and hand clapping. And did you ever play a game with elastic where you took a long piece of elastic, tied them together. One person steps inside on one end, the other person on the other end. Then then the third (or more) went through a rhyme and jumped over the elastic. Every time you you passed a level, the elastic got hiked up a notch and so on. In Norway they call the game "hoppe strikk" which literally jumping elastic.

    How 'bout cat's cradle with string, where you thread the string on your hands and do all sorta cool stuff with it?

    Geeze, man, you're unlocking a whole host of memories here. And so does the rest of your post!

    I shall return :) thanks...for the memories...

    ReplyDelete
  7. So many memories! And I love the pictures that you added!

    Sadly, no I haven't seen your glasses. I'm quite sure that they're hidden somewhere with mine. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. You've brought me right back to my childhood. Many a day, I'd sit in my class in my 'I hate Bon Jovi' t-shirt and this was even before there was a Bon Jovi. Yes, I had an interesting childhood but sure look at the well rounded individuals we've all turned into!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Portia, yep I think we are :)

    steph, yep, I remember the oddest things lol

    NJAJ, thanks glad you enjoyed it :)

    Stella, FACEBOOK! its how I have found everyone .

    Sandra, thanks, I agree with you about math

    lissy.glad you enjoyued it :) yes we called it "elastics" and played before school and during the breaks, constantly. and yes the string thing we did for a time too.there was also a paper game where you made like an origami type thing and there were nubmers and you chose a number and inside was a dare or truth, something like that.

    Galit...if they were with yours they had some sort of adventure as mine are found and quite broken beyond repair.I wonder which pair led which astray?

    BillY Bahahaha we are all wonderful human beans :)

    ReplyDelete

I lurve comments, if popped in ,say Hi :)