IF you could do a Word Cloud of your childhood...what would show up LARGE?

[angstlessk]

Mother Word Cloud: Katherine, what is wrong with you
Father Word Cloud: Listen to your mother

Not real...but just what is in your mind that you recall...

[ohheckyeah]

1. FEISTY

In big, bold letters.

[angstlessk]

2. I consider that a compliment...

FEISTY is GOOD

[ohheckyeah]

3. And precocius

precocious, gutsy, and rebellious.

[angstlessk]

8. All compliments...I was rebellious...but that is where the "what is wrong with you" came from

My mother probably voted for every republican that came along...

She was from New York...moved to VA after marriage...and absolutely loved the idea that black folks had to move off the sidewalk to let her pass...

[ohheckyeah]

24. My dad used to say I was a rebel

without a cause. LOL

Fortunately my parents were never racist, but they were conservative in a lot of ways until GWB. He turned them off Republicans forever.

[Control-Z]

4. This thread could turn into a lot of fun!

I'll be checking back to see how it progresses!!

[REP]

7. Or not.

Not everyone had a happy childhood.

I know you know that

[angstlessk]

10. Angst can be...if not fun...

a catharsis...take it from the angstless one

[REP]

21. Angst would have been fanfuckingtastic.

[angstlessk]

49. Do you have a LARGE word or sentence in a Word Cloud

that would depict your childhood? LIKE Asshole? or Bend over, you are about to get the whipping of a lifetime?

One or several sentences?

[REP]

82. Fear

[angstlessk]

86. That is very general...FEAR of what...the boogy man?

Fear of your parents...now that is a big one

[REP]

107. None of your fucking business

But thanks for asking. If I wanted to go into great detail about my horrific past, I would've done so.

[angstlessk]

132. My theory has always been

(As grownups) If we could all place our troubles on a tree and go around that tree and pick out a trouble, we most likely would end up with our own troubles, as we know we could survive them, maybe someone elses not so much?

Maybe you would end up with your own, because it was the only one left on the tree?

[notadmblnd]

136. Line up! Who did it?

That my memory of our stepfather.

[Control-Z]

83. Of course, you're right.

I guess I was just hoping the thread would be upbeat and positive. (And I wasn't about to bring it down by suggesting what my word cloud would say. Lol.)

Seriously, I always hope there are fewer sad stories here on DU than I imagine there probably are (whether we hear about them or not). It's something I think about often. What makes us the way we are? DUers are some of the most understanding, empathetic and caring people I've ever known. I don't want to believe that it is a common experience of tragedy and suffering that make it so. That would just be heartbreaking. If that makes any sense.

I didn't mean to discount anyone.

[REP]

108. What did Dostoesvsky say about happy families?

They're pretty much all alike

Unhappy families are too common

[Cleita]

5. Traveler.

Hundreds of thousands of miles in air, rail and sea traveled on both American continents before the age of twenty one starting at eighteen months old.

[angstlessk]

6. At 18 months I am sure you did not appreciate the travelling..but from then on...

JUST WOW...we moved a lot to..but from apartment to apartment in the same city...not exactly the same

[Cleita]

9. No, but the passports, ship and air itineries my mother kept as

well as the few photos (film was pricey in those days) filled in the lack of memory. I do have very keen memories though from the age of three that even today are like yesterday.

[angstlessk]

11. Sounds like a priceless childhood...

There are so many ways we live out our lives..and childhood frames our lives

You were a lucky one..and I can tell you know it.

[Cleita]

37. I was very fortunate for the experience, but

I was also isolated because my friends had no similar experiences to relate to.

[A HERETIC I AM]

12. Me too.

Dad worked for the Government and the longest time I lived in one place was 5 years until I was 19 years old.

3 continents and one Pacific Island.

Probably the primary reason I picked truck driving as a career.

[angstlessk]

14. My sister and I came from the same home...she had a lust to travel

I never had...though I moved because of marriage...I always returned home...and stayed there when I finally could..only moved recently, cause I could no longer afford to live in my hometown

I think you, too, were fortunate to experience travel at an early age

[A HERETIC I AM]

26. Living in Athens, Greece as a 7 year old....

and having attended schools in 5 different regions (2 in foreign countries) before graduating HS definitely gives you a different perspective on the world than living your entire life in West Bumdiddle, Missouri, that's for sure.
.

[Cleita]

46. Wow. I'll bet your family took you to the museums and to look

at the antiquities. I would have loved that.

[A HERETIC I AM]

56. I'll say one thing about my dad...

Last edited Tue Feb 11, 2014, 11:25 PM - Edit history (1)

and that is he made SURE we got out and about, so to speak.

My very first memories....if I think back as far as I can, were in Saipan, where he was stationed in 1961. So I was 2. I remember the fact that our house was on a hill and that down the hill meant our house was on the right (Oops! On the left! And at the bottom of the hill was a roundabout, if I remember correctly). He took us "Boondocking" - as in "out in the Boondocks", meaning he would just take us all on a Sunday drive out in the remote parts of the Island.

In Greece we always seemed to take a drive on the weekends. I've seen more ruins and temples of Apollo than I can count!

When we came back to the states in '67 we lived in Maryland outside DC near Gaithersburg. In '68 or 69 he bought an Apache "Ramada" pop-up style camper trailer and we were all over the east coast in that including up into the Canadian Maritime's.

Lots of travel to historical places both here and overseas.

[Cleita]

40. Yes. Every day is an adventure but I often wonder how my

parents never strangled me. Traveling with a child sometimes in very primitive circumstances had to be exhausting for them.

[JDPriestly]

129. We moved all the time too. The longest we lived in one place was maybe 5 years.

But we traveled only in the US. The only part of the US that I haven't lived in is the Northeast, and I went to a camp in New Jersey for several weeks one summer in high school.

[al_liberal]

13. We're really poor OR this really sucks.

Mom made us scrambled eggs for BL&D. We ate Govt cheese and chased it with powdered milk.

I don't know if the poor today are provided as much.

I really hope not because I wouldn't wish that upon anyone other than entitled Republicans.

[angstlessk]

17. Nothing like variety...you had NONE

Well, I think in republican hell...ONLY government issued ANYTHING is available...and let's hope the eggs are powered

[Scuba]

15. If you don't behave I'll sell you to the Gypsies.

[angstlessk]

19. Damn...that sounds like a threat...a scary threat at that!

I'll take 'Katherine, what's wrong with you' ANY DAY

[Scuba]

23. Scary at first, but even as a kid you realize it's just an empty threat after 10-12 times.

Plus, I never saw any Gypsies around. That woulda been cool.

[A HERETIC I AM]

32. There was a time in my childhood when it was a distinct possibility

When I lived in Greece there were plenty of Gypsy tribes around and in the 1960's, being kidnapped was not unusual, from my recollections.

Saying "I'll sell you to the Gypsies" is not at all hollow when there are Gypsies camped right down the road!

[RussBLib]

16. whiffleball

I was a switch-hitting slugger. We'd play in a neighbor's back yard for hours on end.

[angstlessk]

22. We too played baseball..from morning till the sun don't shine

One of the boys who got the game together...who wanted to play professionally got his arm caught in a meat grinder...and gone was his ambition...it was SO SAD

[NV Whino]

18. Fantasy

I tuned out waaaaay before the 60s.

[angstlessk]

34. Was it a GOOD tune out or one that caused problems...

Tuning out is not necessarily bad : )

[NV Whino]

63. Definitely a good tune out.

[angstlessk]

64. Well, in that case, I may choose YOUR trouble on the trouble tree...

but probably not...

In Catholic school the boys were instructed to see which denomination (sic) of priest they would want to join..and the girls...which nunnery to choose..I chose a sect that could not talk, only pray silently all day...

Talk about tune out...and they are still silent after all these years...

[Rhythm]

20. Some onomatopoeia of the sound of my mom throwing things...

Mine was not a happy place as a kid...

[Scuba]

25. I'll rec any post with the word "onomatopoeia" in it. Rec.

[angstlessk]

28. Okay I had to look up 'onomatopoeia' and it does not sound good for you

Buzz and hiss are examples of onomatopoeia...words whose sounds suggest the sense

I have always said..

If all our troubles were put on a tree..and we all got to go around that tree to choose a trouble...we would all end up with our own

Cause we have already survived the worse of it...but we could not be sure if we could survive others troubles...

[Rhythm]

48. crash-bang-rattle-boom... usually accompanied by yelling

-- My dad was a career Air Force noncom... not home a lot, but when he was, we were inseparable.
--Mom was psychologically unwell (violent mood-swings due to long-undiagnosed blood-sugar issues)...
-- I was her verbal (and occasionally physical) punching-bag. My little brother escaped this.

As soon as i was old enough to go to aimless places around town on my bike (around age 12), i was virtually never home.

Dad passed away in '92...
Mom and i have only a nodding relationship, although she gets along well with my younger brother and his family who live close to her.

[angstlessk]

51. I would never pick your troubles from the tree of troubles...mine seem so miniscule now

But you overcame..and you grew up...but I am sure there are still scars that will never heal

[dixiegrrrrl]

27. Reading.

Solitude

Outdoors.

[northoftheborder]

29. Playing outside barefoot all summer. Reading, hearing the radio on all the time. Dolls.

...Playing the piano, playing with brother. A simple, happy, poor but rich, childhood.

[angstlessk]

58. You must be a southerner...we do like to be barefoot

the 'street'...road actually...that led to our house was filled with cinders...and the first day we could walk that road without saying 'ouch'...we were officially ready for summer!

[northoftheborder]

115. Yes, Texas. Even with hazards such as pieces of metal in ground, splinters, hot pavement, those..

....infernal "stickers" everywhere---we were allowed to go barefoot all the time after a certain spring date (can't remember when it was); surely we put on shoes for the store, I don't remember.

[babylonsister]

30. Stuck in the middle...

5 kids, I thought of myself as blending in, maybe a bit lost.

And the ocean/beach-big part of my childhood.

[angstlessk]

45. Ah, ocean/beach

I recall the ONLY place in Norfolk VA that even dips...was the road to the beach...and as a kid..I got butterflies as we drove that road

5 kids...I think that qualifies as a large family...one could get lost in a large family

[WilliamPitt]

31. REAGAN

Followed by NUKES.

COLDWAR.

FEAR.

Not a fun time.

[angstlessk]

38. Yes, the 50's had 'Drop and Roll'..then the Cuban Missle Crises...followed by a quite...TILL

REAGAN...who ginned up all the old fears...COLD WAR...be afraid...VERY afraid

[A HERETIC I AM]

43. NIXON

Which was accompanied by endless months of talk about NIXON!

Imagine what the media coverage would be like if it was discovered that Barack Obama actually was a Kenyan Muslim.

That is close to what it was like when Nixon was going through Watergate.

[angstlessk]

57. I was all growed when Nixon happened...I have no idea how it would impact a child

How did it make you feel? Cynical as just a kid?

[A HERETIC I AM]

74. We lived in DC from '67 to 72 and a lot of the lead in of Watergate happened while we lived there.

The news out of DC was interesting everyday, as I remember it. Hell, even as a 8, 9 ten and 11 year old it was difficult to not notice what was happening a mere 25 miles down the road, despite how much I might prefer to watch Looney Tunes.

We had moved to Alice Springs, NT Australia by late 1972 and was over there in December of 1973 when he resigned and famously left the White House grounds on Marine One.

It became clear to me that Americans would only put up with so much shit back then. Since you were "all growed" when it all went down, you may remember that it was often said in the months after the original news of the break-in at the Watergate complex broke, if Nixon had simply come on TV and admitted what had happened, apologized and did another "Checkers Speech" he would have stayed in office. I'm sure you recall he did win re-election in '72 by a landslide, and for those too young, it should be noted. It was Nixon's own hubris and paranoia that eventually screwed him over.

Did it make me feel cynical?

It certainly made me more aware, if nothing else.

(Edited the title line for accuracy)

[angstlessk]

76. Even from Australia, as a kid you remember more than I

I do remember his wave goodbye on the helicopter..and that is the last I remember

[A HERETIC I AM]

77. I remember the exact moment when my Mom told me "John Johns Daddy is dead"

Some things are so clear it is as if they happened yesterday.

Now...where the fuck are my car keys?!?

[angstlessk]

78. ROTFPMP...keys indeed n/t

[reusrename]

33. "Just tell the truth."

For some reason I heard that one a lot.

[angstlessk]

39. I think they use that in interrogation cells

They say it till you don't know what the truth really is!!!

[reusrename]

50. Early one Saturday morning before daybreak,

my aunt caught my brother and I in the middle of our street. They were upgrading the sewers and had all the asphalt removed and the old "smudge pots" set out to warn traffic. We had our little beach pails and shovels, and she caught us digging a hole in the middle of the road.

"What are you doing?"

"We're trying to catch a Volkwagen!"

"Why were you playing with those smudge pots?"

"We weren't playing with the smudge pots."


Damn. We were both covered in soot.

[angstlessk]

53. That is too funny!! Caught with your hand in the proverbial cookie jar

Gave me a chuckle, it did

[reusrename]

59. Many years later my aunt asked if we remembered it, and of course we both did.

We were very young (5 & 6) so we mainly remembered getting in a LOT of trouble for lying about the smudgpots, but she told us that we really had a plan all worked out. We had a blanket that we were going to cover the hole with and everything. Real Wile E Coyote stuff.

[angstlessk]

60. And your aunt turned out to be the roadrunner...

and nixed your plans...good thing there was not a cliff nearby

[shenmue]

35. Reading

It is a huge thing in my life.

[angstlessk]

41. If READING is your GIANT child word cloud...I envy you...

I bet you read a lot!

[shenmue]

47. Thank you

Mom and Dad took me to the library a lot when I was a kid. It really stuck. They gave me a good value with that.

[snooper2]

36. DANGER

[angstlessk]

42. Did your parents define the danger or just let it kinda corrupt your mind?

Danger is very vague...and could cause anxiety

[snooper2]

100. Building ramps off the side of the chicken shed at 8 years old

for a go kart

[angstlessk]

174. So the 'danger' was you to yourself...

LOL...you were one of those kid 'dare devils'...today they are called stuntmen

[gollygee]

44. Olly Olly In Come Free!

And lots of noises of cans being kicked.

[angstlessk]

54. Yes, summer games that we could play till dark...

Nothing is ALL bad...thanks for making me remember

[Squinch]

52. GREAT question!!!!

I have to think about that one.

[angstlessk]

55. Close your eyes and think about when you were a kid

then try to remember the thing your parents said most often

[Quayblue]

61. you're beautiful

Patience/wait
weird
time
work hard at what I love

[angstlessk]

62. You are not just beautiful...you won the lottery for good parents

And I am so very happy for you...may you MULTIPLY...so there will be more good parents

[Quayblue]

69. dont make me cry lol

My kids are my blessings and I work to make sure they will care about generations when I'm no longer here and they are gone too.

[angstlessk]

73. Not to cry...to be joyfull

I have seen in my own family...quirks..which I am sure is in the DNA

When a good family comes along..THEY should multiply...like yours

And good on you to instill in your children what your parents taught you

[reformist2]

65. BRADY BUNCH. It was on three times a day. :)

[angstlessk]

68. That sounds like a distraction rather than a reality

What are your memories of your folks as they related to you?

[RBInMaine]

66. Here's Mine:

Mother: "Life is short and death is long, so you'd better have a good time now."
"The weak knuckle under and the strong survive."


Father: "If you don't tell the truth, no one will ever believe you even when you are telling the truth."
"That homework may not be fun, but it won't hurt you to do it. So do it."
"Always do the best you can. That's all you can do."

[angstlessk]

71. Sounds like well adjusted adults raised you...

May there be MANY more like them! We have too many sociopaths in this world

[RBInMaine]

113. Well adjusted, real, down to earth, good people.

[pipi_k]

67. What I heard most often was...

Mom - "You miserable kids!!!!"

Dad - "You don't know shit from apple butter!!" (This said to my mother during nearly every one of their ever more frequent arguments at night when they didn't know I was lying in bed hearing all of them)

[angstlessk]

70. WOW..I am leaving your troubles on the tree...

I am SO GLAD you outgrew their terrible parentage...I know there are scars..but you are HERE..and you are an adult...so you got by it...I may not have..and so many others might not have been as strong as you...

Glad you are here

[pinboy3niner]

72. "MickeyBobbyJimmySandyTammy!!!"

You knew when mom was REALLY mad. She used all of our names--including the dogs.

[angstlessk]

75. A Pow Wow ensued...

in which case no one wanted to be pow wowed...

[Lost_Count]

79. Ninja turtle...

[angstlessk]

80. I remember Ninja Turtles...not from my childhood...but my sons

Boys ate that stuff up...

[zazen]

81. weird that this OP is so triggering. . .

but I think it's nice that so many of you have positive or at least amusing memories.

I've always said and felt that I'd prefer death than returning to my childhood. I was 23 before I realized how uncommon that was. I assumed everyone felt that way. When you're a child, you have no sense of perspective, that it will ever end.

Doing this exercise is like going to the heart of Complex PTSD. It's like asking, what did your batterer say the most to you? Thankfully, I dissociated during most of it, so I can't do the exercise.

But honestly, it's so weird to see all of these fond memories. I have no conception what that would be like, except that I hope and pray that's how my children experience their childhoods. That's been my life's work. I think they have a healthy sense of humor about their eccentric mom's misguided but loving intensity and attempts to do it all "right." It's such a blessing to have a chance to do it differently, for them.

g'night. . .

[angstlessk]

84. That was my hope for my son...

I never once asked him 'What is wrong with you'...that is so insulting...

BUT...obviously you suffered more than just the ordinary dysfunction...for which I am so sorry for you...

YOU must be stronger than most...you are here...you SURVIVED...some don't

I would never select your troubles from the trouble tree...I probably would not be here today...

I am so happy you are here..and glad you expressed..at least a little of what you went through

[reusrename]

99. The hardest part of doing "right" is figuring out what that is.

Some people never figure it out, and even worse, some people never even try.

You sound as if you've done the hard part. Good for you!

[laundry_queen]

109. I can relate

I hated being a kid. Couldn't wait to grow up. I'm not sure I have PTSD over it, as I wasn't hit all that much - I was expert at avoiding it but not 100% of the time - but both my parents are narcissists. Lots of emotional abuse and manipulation. Everything looked perfect on the outside though. Which means everyone now just thinks I'm bitter or spoiled.

Did I have good memories as a kid? Well, my parents tried to put on the 'good parent' show and do things with us - but any joy was marred by the sheer terror that something MIGHT cause my dad to lose his temper and lash out or my mom to shame us and give us the silent treatment (which would then trigger my dad's temper). I guess my word cloud for my childhood would have:

"WALKING ON EGGSHELLS"

[angstlessk]

171. That term makes your life much seem more simple than it was...

More like 'blindsided at every turn'...

If you could walk on eggshells, you could learn...like walking on coals...but being blindsided is not learnable (sic)

[hunter]

159. My childhood trauma was mostly confined to middle and high school.

I quit high school for college. College was much better. Adults, especially adults in college generally know they'll get in serious trouble if they assault a minor, especially a skinny squeaky hairless obnoxious one like myself. My middle and high school nickname among the bullies was "queerbait."

My childhood home, wherever it was, even sleeping in a public park in France, was a fairly safe place.

My siblings and I were somewhat feral children but there was always a safe place to sleep and something to eat, whatever the surrounding family chaos and extreme drama.

Kicked out of college I was living in my car in a church parking lot because the police would harass me on the streets and I really didn't want to go home for a couple of reasons. It was just more comfortable chilling out in my broken car. I still had a university library card, gym pass (for showers), and a computer account thanks to a some people who still saw some potential in me.

Anyways, I already had plenty of experience living rough.

In my family we create funny stories whenever someone dies. The nastier they were, like my crazy grandma who was a danger to herself and others, as recognized by the law, especially after the police and paramedics had to drag her out out of her house kicking, hitting, cussing, biting, and thank God she'd forgotten where her guns were hidden, well then, the funnier the stories we tell. If strangers don't understand why we are laughing, so what?

My grandma was living in an extended care facility and she must have weighed no more than eighty pounds. She could still be extremely nasty. Damn that woman had a mouth. She could castrate a human male with her words. She was a hoarder too. The place she was living didn't allow hoarding but they tolerated the 100 plus pounds of crap she'd tied up to her wheelchair in plastic shopping bags. Yes, she was a bag lady.

So I was pushing her along in a public park one day and she saw some pine cones on the path.

"Can you pick those up for me?" she asked, "they're just going to throw them away!"

I did, she wrapped them up in a plastic bags and hung them off her wheelchair. She was happy.

It made me feel good I could do that.

Simple things.

It's the simple stuff that matters and ignore all the crappy stuff if you can.

I've not been much successful at that, but here I am.

[Solly Mack]

85. Heathen and eejit would dominate.

[angstlessk]

89. Your parents called you a heathen...that is a pretty strong admonition

what is eejit?

[Solly Mack]

96. Eejit is the Irish and Scottish form of idiot. And, no, heathen was never said meanly.

Nor do I consider it a strong admonition. It's an endearment to my ears when said by family. When people outside the fold use the word to be insulting, it says more about their upbringing (with fear, prejudices, bigotry and hate) than mine. (Same for eejit)

Children born to those with more than a hint of Irish in them have been called eejits for centuries. It's an endearment....until it isn't. Depends on who says it.

[angstlessk]

98. WOW my family is Irish...thanks for this lesson...I will remember it...

I should say of Irish heritage...my mothers grandmother came here from Ireland..In fact...the only people my mother spoke of were grand mothers and aunts...no men were even mentioned????

[Solly Mack]

106. We must be related. (The lack of mentioning men.)

I wasn't trying to give a lesson. Sorry if it sounded that way. Calling your kids eejits (affectionately) is something I've heard all my life, and not just within my family. I think the younger generations in my family have dropped the habit. Truly, growing up I never knew a Irish parent that didn't refer to their kids as eejits from time to time. We all knew it wasn't meant to be hateful. Helps that it was always said with a smile - usually a slightly exasperated smile. Meant we were up to no good or getting on someone's nerves with our antics. (or about to do something stupid)

[hunter]

87. FIRE, electricity, reading, computers, FISH, sunburn, ER.

I read a lot. I was probably encouraged to do that because otherwise I'd be playing with fire.

I never burned anything important. (As much "fools and children" luck as caution, I'm sure.)

It was cool to be a kid then. Chemistry sets were dangerous. Household chemicals any kid could buy were dangerous. (It would have been no problem to set up a meth lab then but there was no point. Plenty of doctors would prescribe amphetamines for weight loss and common complaints.)

The primary sources of protein in our family was fish my dad (and later us older kids) caught, powdered milk, and beans.

I've caught fish that weighed more than I did a few times in my life, but now I feel sort of bad about that. Big fish like that are rare now.

Unfortunately most of these fish were caught just off the Southern California coast, back when sewage including industrial waste was dumped in the ocean with minimal treatment. I'm sure these toxins didn't do my growing body any good.

Beans and cabbage with a smoked ham hock, or split pea soup with a ham hock, were occasional treats.

Eating with two of my great grandmas was not a treat. They'd go out and kill a couple of chickens when we visited. In that respect I was a city kid.

I also got quite a few blistering sunburns as a child so now I have to keep a sharp watch for spooky patches of skin so they can be cut out of me before they try to kill me.

I've got "moderate to severe" asthma. As a child asthma medicines and common attitudes toward the illness were primitive which meant I'd end up in the ER and sometimes the hospital a few times a year. (Last time I visited an ER for asthma was in the mid 'eighties; modern meds are that good!)

[angstlessk]

92. So you were a wanna be pyromaniac...

or as they call it nowadays a terrorist

I love split pea soup...

BUT a fresh killed chicken...YUM!!! What a difference in taste to a store bought chicken...almost like day and night

In the sixties I went to a 'weight loss' "doctor"...the waiting room was full...and I had to be either shorter or heavier to get my pills...I think I was shorter?

Yes...laying on the beach with OIL on...might as well be one of those chickens!

[riderinthestorm]

88. Mom:Don't embarass me. Dad: Fuck social conventions, I'm outta here nt

[angstlessk]

90. Sounds like your father embarassed your mom...and left?

Your mother sounds a lot like mine...wants to be liked by everyone...EXCEPT HER FAMILY!

[riderinthestorm]

91. Oh yes. Absolutely nt

[idendoit]

93. HELL!!

[angstlessk]

94. Well there ya go...where is the fire and brimstone?

Is this a religious family..or one that cusses a lot?

[idendoit]

157. I was physically, mentally and sexually abused.

My mother was Roman catholic, when I told her what a priest had done to me she took me to have my head examined. I was misdiagnosed and was put in an asylum run by...wait for it.. the Catholic Church. Where the abuse was repeated ad nauseum.

[angstlessk]

158. I am so glad you survived

that horrid childhood !

When most people see a child they think of innocence and the joy of being a child.

When a pedophile sees a child they want to own the innocence and then steals the joy of being a child...

[idendoit]

165. The joy is that my job is to help others.

My biggest challenge is that I also work with offenders. I work in mental and behavioral health.

[angstlessk]

167. WOW...

You must have a large heart to forgive...and assist those that have done things to others that was done to you...

Bigger person than me, for sure.

[idendoit]

170. Let go, let Love. It's the reason for the season.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

95. Go get the belt

I kid you not. I had a shit for a dad.

[angstlessk]

97. DAMN!!!!! Leave THAT problem on the problem tree...That would be called abuse today

Verbal abuse is one thing...'sticks and stones'...but a parent who is supposed to protect a child abuses him/her...who can he/she turn to for protection?

That is just too sad...glad you survived it...damn I hate that!

You are here so I know if you have kids you do not abuse them

[Pretzel_Warrior]

103. You are correct

I broke the abuse cycle with my daughter who is a teenager and my 2 year old son.

Having kids myself and cherishing them made me ask WTF even more.

[CFLDem]

131. I feel for you pretzel.

My dad did the same thing but he never hit hard and after a couple years me and my siblings stopped taking it seriously.

[Throd]

101. Anxiety through spacial relationships and such

I used to lay awake at night at a very young age pondering how one grain of sand a trillion miles away could make it to my pillow in the same amount of time another one only ten feet away could, that it was only a question of speed. The concept of infinity and additional dimensions caused me to lose many hours of sleep.

[angstlessk]

117. Pondering the imponderable

That's gotta be hard on a kid

[ChisolmTrailDem]

102. Exploration and "We have to move."

I was all about exploration. From creek bottoms and water towers to chemistry and astronomy. Reading, to me, was exploration. I explored life and fell in love with it.

"We have to move." Not because of any dysfunction (I was lucky enough to have decent parents, though much of my exploration was done because both parents worked from when I was a toddler) but because dad built both steam and nuclear power plants. When the one he was working on would be completed, we'd have to move to another location, sometimes half-way across the country. In my 12 years of school we moved four times and I went to school in five different locations around the country.

Which brings me back to exploration. Because we moved so much, I was always exploring.

Now, as an adult, I find it VERY difficult to settle in one place, though I have managed to succeed somehow. I often feel like I've been somewhere too long and that it's time to go.

[angstlessk]

119. Heck I had trouble making friends and I went to the same school 7 years

I cannot imagine being the new kid...over and over...but it sounds like you made the best of it..like you were always somewhere, in your mind, that was enjoyable.

[Deep13]

104. anxiety nt

[Blue_In_AK]

105. Mourning.

A lot of death in my family early on.

The five most horrifying words in the English language -- "There's been a terrible accident."

[angstlessk]

120. Not sure if that happened in Alaska, but there is a tough place to live...

And I think losing someone you dearly love when you are old enough to know death, but too young to be tough hurts more. I lost my father at 16 and I collapsed right in the hospital corridor.

[Blue_In_AK]

151. It was in Ohio, actually.

My 15-year-old brother accidentally killed himself in a hunting accident when I was 7. My mother was killed by a drunk driver almost exactly a year later. I had to be tough...no such thing as grief counseling in those days.

[angstlessk]

153. DAMN...at such a gentle, formative age...

Old enough to know death is permanent...too young to process the loss...

DAMN..is all I can think to say..the pain had to be almost beyond comprehension...

[Blue_In_AK]

161. Thank you.

[TlalocW]

110. Batman

Obsessed with him as a child. Was Batman several Halloweens in a row (the crappy plastic costume with the mask with the incredibly weak rubber band that you were lucky survived the night of trick-or-treating), rode my bike around town with a blue bath towel clothes-pinned around my neck, etc.

TlalocW

[Art_from_Ark]

112. "I have a new book for you today"

At one time, I had quite a collection of Scholastic, Dr. Seuss and Golden books.

[angstlessk]

124. You had a head start over the ones who spent their time on cartoons

Good parents, and I bet your kids (if you have any) read also?

[Art_from_Ark]

175. Oh, I watched my share of cartoons, too

Bullwinkle, Jonny Quest, Space Ghost, Yogi Bear, George of the Jungle, Bugs Bunny/Road Runner, Tennessee Tuxedo, Linus the Lionhearted, Bongo Congo, Milton the Monster, Pink Panther, The Alvin Show, Underdog, Top Cat, Beany and Cecil, Astro Boy, Scooby Doo, Wacky Races, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Clutch Cargo, The Beatles, Popeye, The Groovy Ghoulies, The Archies, ...

However, those cartoons were almost exclusively the domain of Saturday mornings-- maybe 4 hours of cartoons with a non-cartoon show mixed in, and then maybe a few short cartoons that were shown on after-school kid shows. But yes, I did have a head start in school, thanks in part to the various Scholastic books, Children's Encyclopedia of US History, as well as the Golden Book Encyclopedia and its companion set of geography books, which I read several times from cover to cover.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

114. OUTSIDE and AGAIN

probably followed by the whole phrases Where is that boy? and You're late for dinner, again.

sP

[angstlessk]

116. In again Finnigan my mother used to call each time we came back into the house

we were in and out all day, every day

[frogmarch]

118. Daddy's very sick and is

going to die, and oh, no, now Mom's very sick too!

[angstlessk]

121. Losing a parent as a child, I think, (I could be wrong)

Is as hard as a parent losing a child...

These are your protectors..once they are gone, who is going to care for you, look after your needs?

That would be very scary

[haele]

122. "How's your homework, Chickedee?" and "Let's go out."

Followed closely by "Hmmm, okay - do you know why you did it that way?" and "You can't do anything else until you pick it up and put it away."

I was horrible about doing homework, even though I was good at school - I'd rather read or make things. I was also really, really horrible about picking up after myself - which was very important as in for most of my childhood, we (family of four plus the occasional pet) lived in very small (500 - 600 sq ft) rentals. So we all got out and active a lot.

Haele

[angstlessk]

125. My bedroom always looked like a scene after an earthquake

everything was on the floor..

I too would eschew homework..I would get 100 on my test in class and a 0 for homework...average THAT grade...

But I went to college..and studied ..so all was not lost

[sakabatou]

123. Pokemon

[angstlessk]

127. You must be young...or a lot younger than I

I know baseball cards became collectors items, not sure how those Pokemon cards fared?

Pokemon morphed into Anime?

[sakabatou]

130. I wasn't really an avid collector of either cards

Pokemon, the video games, have stayed since '96. I've only watched the first 4 seasons of the anime. Also, Godzilla and Power Rangers must've come up

[JDPriestly]

126. LOVE

[angstlessk]

128. You are ONE lucky person!!!!!!!!

It would be so nice if we all had that as our BIG memory of childhood...but you know...

If we made it out of our childhood...there had to be SOME love there...cause so many children succumb to the cruelty of their parents or caretakers...

[JDPriestly]

133. My mother studied child development in college and lived with a professor

of child development as a nanny during those years.

I remember the strange but wonderful advice she gave me as I began at a very early age my babysitting career (just one of my many jobs. I'm flexible). She said to me: "There's positive reinforcement and there's negative reinforcement, and positive reinforcement works best."

I was a difficult child because I was born with a hearing loss (not too serious and gone thanks to an operation when I was about 9) and nearly legally blind, not quite. I was always bumping into things and causing trouble until I finally got my glasses in the second grade. So, my parents had to be very patient.

We never had any money, but there were four of us children, all girls, best friends in the world. I love my family. They are the best. I was really lucky to be born into such a family.

By the way, my father was a minister, the good kind that really took Christian teachings about life to heart and helped other people. My parents were the best.

[angstlessk]

138. I find it sad that you said

My parents were the best

[bravenak]

134. Actions create concequences!!!

You reap what you sow.
Put that book down and PAY ATTENTION!
If it has my NAME on it,it's mine.

[angstlessk]

137. A bit of Physics, a bit of Agriculture...a demand

but If it has my NAME on it,it's mine is too funny, did you come from a large family, and everything that came into the house had to be claimed?

[bravenak]

141. Yes, we had to mark our stuff.

My mom and stepdad raised me and my sister and four female cousins. She never got to have anything to herself, she used to write her name in her underwear.

[angstlessk]

143. 6 kids is certainly a large family...and you the only boy...oh my

[bravenak]

144. Girl.

Tee hee!

[angstlessk]

145. OOPS...poor stepdad...he was certainly outnumbered :-)

[bravenak]

177. I felt his pain.

[notadmblnd]

135. Jennifer, Cathy, Clara, Patty... Damn it you know who you are!

My mother when she forgot who she wanted to talk to.

[angstlessk]

139. Were you one of quadruplets?

That is either funny or sad, and I don't know which or

[notadmblnd]

140. No, but we're right in a row.

She knew who we were too, she'd just get so flustered fussing over who it was that she wanted to do something, that she'd just yell all of our names out.

[angstlessk]

142. AHHA she was using psychology..."You know who you are"

and the guilty party would appear...perhaps...or be found cowering in a corner...okay now it's a

[notadmblnd]

147. Yeah, she knew that we knew which one of us she wanted.

[dipsydoodle]

146. Affection.

Received and given.

[angstlessk]

148. I bet that really made you feel loved...

Many families...mine included would greet a relative we hadn't seen in a year or so with a 'hello'...and nary a hug...much less a kiss on the cheek...

I bet the person who said love was one of her LARGE clouds also had affection...

[panader0]

149. Surf

Lived in Hawaii from 7th grade til HS graduation in '68. I spent every spare minute in the ocean.

[angstlessk]

150. OKAY, now, you are only showing off...

Is envy still a sin?..I can eat meat on Friday

[enlightenment]

152. Goodbye.

Military brat. I learned that word very early.

[angstlessk]

154. That brings to mind a kid sitting in the back seat of a car

waiving goodbye to his friend as the car pulls away...so very sad

[Arugula Latte]

155. HORSES

I was obsessed.

[angstlessk]

156. If your obsession was satisfied...you were a sportsman :-)

[larkrake]

160. Horse

[angstlessk]

163. Would that be the drug or the animal?

Makes a difference, ya know

[JHB]

162. Space

[angstlessk]

164. A child of the 60's...Sputnick vs our walk on the moon

It was a GREAT time to be in elementary or middle school...dreams of the future were amazing..

I was 13 when Kennedy was killed

[JHB]

166. Geezer! I was 4 1/2 when Apollo 11 landed

Of course, the 70s were that long chalkboard-scratching of cutting back the manned program, but Viking, Pioneer, Voyager...

[JustAnotherGen]

168. We love you

Even when you are an imp!

[angstlessk]

169. An imp...who could object to being an imp?

I LOVE imps...and so does your parents

[JustAnotherGen]

172. Like

When I was and decided to drive my dads car and drove it into the ditch?
Then I went and hid in my "fort" my dad came and found me - and we were walking back to the house and he pinched me hard to make me cry so my mom would think he spanked me?
And then I threw him under the bus by pointing out to my mom that HE left the key in the car?


I could write a ten page posts of stuff justanothergen just decided to do.

My parents were saints! Maaaan - I miss my dad.

[angstlessk]

173. imp parents are the greatest...at least your seemed to be

and INDEED you WERE an imp...they had the language correct

[Prophet 451]

176. Mine are...

Mother word cloud: "don't you dare raise your hands to me" (always said when she would riase her fists and I would grab her wrists to stop her hitting me)

Father word cloud: "you should stand up to them"

My illness and my meds mean that I don't remember huge chunks of my childhood. From what I can remember, I'm glad of it.

[femmocrat]

178. Go outside and play!

We were outside from dawn till dusk. Only came in to eat and use the bathroom.

[davekriss]

179. FUN - BUCOLIC - STONED

[Adsos Letter]

180. Alcoholism

It ruins everything.