Back in the olden days . . .

 

Me and Mum in Germany 1957/58

Born in 1955, I reckon I was born at a brilliant time to be a child. WW 2 was over and North America was enjoying a time of great prosperity. Yes, there was the cold war, but it was not something that really coloured my life very much until I was a lot older. My parents kept us pretty much protected from stuff like that.  I didn't even know there had been a Cuban Missile Crisis until I was an adult, and my father was in the airforce!  See . . .  protected. 

I was lucky enough to grow up in small communities. Because my father was in the airforce we did move a few times, but most of his postings were pretty long time,  so after we left Germany (when I was 4) we lived in Manitoba for 6 years and then in Nova Scotia for the rest of my growing up years.  We knew all of our neighbors and our neighbors knew us. We enjoyed a lot of freedom to play outside with a whole group of friends.  We only had two or three channels on the television and children's programming was limited pretty much to Saturday mornings, so the world outside our door was our playground. There were no cell phones, computers, computer games or social media.  In fact I was ten years old before my parents even got a telephone in our house and it was a real novelty! 

It was a simple time, but it was the best of times! 

 

Do you remember toys like this?  They were great.  With that moving plate on the bottom that you pushed to operate the elastics that were threaded through the limbs and bodies of the characters on top, you could make them do all sorts.  This was as close as we got to remote controlled toys! 

 

Do you remember these? 

And these?    

 

And these?   We didn't have any of those at home, but I remember playing them at a friends house and in kindergarten they had them in the play section of the classroom. 

  

My best friend had this game and I loved to go to her house and play it.  I thought it was pretty wonderful.  One year for Christmas at home we got a box that was filled with a number of board games, parcheesi, chinese checkers, normal checkers.  We played with that a lot on rainy days.  I remember borrowing my friends Clue game and painstakingly copying it onto the backs of cereal boxes and paper card so that we could play it at home as well. 

When we got a bit older and my mother started working we got some more sophisticated games like this one, Tip-it and we had another called Hands-Down, plus there was a Monopoly game and a word game called Probe that we all really enjoyed playing. We would sit around the table playing it with my dad while my mom sat on the step stool watching.  She wasn't much into playing games. My dad always won because he knew electrical words that we didn't and we could never guess his words. Good times! 

  My best friend moved to Germany when I was 9 and her parents made them get rid of some of their toys and I remember she gave me her roller skates and a Green Giant doll.  Those roller skates were great!  You could adjust them to fit any shoe size. 

 

Remember these?  Footsie.  You put one foot into the circle and then swirled the rope around and had to jump over the rope. Its hard to imagine now.  We all had skipping ropes as well.  One person sized ones and larger ones that you could play in a group with.  Double Dutch . . .  it took me a while to master that one!  I remember feeling so proud when I did.    Do you remember the skipping songs? 

  

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, 

Turn around. 

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, 

Touch the ground. 

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear 

Touch your shoe. 

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear 

That will do. 

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, 

Go upstairs. 

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, 

Say your prayers. 

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, 

Turn out the light.

 Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear 

Say good night! 

Oh what fun we had, and it was all jolly good exercise too!  Then there was games like Red Rover, and Green Light Red Light, Dodge Ball, soft ball, etc. 

 

This is me flying up from Brownies to the Girl Guides when I was ten.  I remember being quite nervous about the change. I loved Brownies so much.  I really looked forward to going to Brownies every Wednesday night. I learned so much via this program . . .  how to darn socks, make a bed, etc.  I remember at the flying up ceremony, I had to follow some stepping stones on the floor and knock at the gate.  Then the Girl Guide you see here in this photo asked me some questions to get through the gate. After I had answered them I went through the gate and followed some more stepping stones into Girl Guides.  I went from being a Sixer and in charge of a group of girls to being nobody again, lol.  It was challenging, but so much fun!  I stayed with the Girl Guides until I was about 15.  Then I stopped going.  All the other girls wanted to do was talk about boys and stuff, and although I liked boys, I wasn't going to Girl Guides to talk about boys.  I wanted to learn stuff. 

I know ... ever the nerd.

 

Almost everyone went to Sunday School.  We would watch Davy and Goliath (a kids show) on the telly early Sunday morning and then put on our Sunday Best and go to Sunday School. The Catholics had theirs and the Protestants had theirs.  At the end of the year they would give out perfect attendance certificates and pins.  I still have mine.. I loved Sunday School. 

 

I had swimming lessons on Saturday mornings and every day in the summer school holidays.  I became quite a proficient swimmer.  My mother had never learned to swim as a child and so it was really important to her that we did. I loved swimming, although when I got to be about 15 or 16 it was more about oggling the lifeguards than it was about being in the pool, lol. 

I loved school and I loved learning.  In fact I loved school so much that the first thing I would do at the end of the school year, was to take my leftover scribblers, etc. and play school.  I was always the teacher.  One of the perks of being the oldest child in the family. 

 

I can remember being invited to lots of Birthday Parties, and I loved to go to them.  Wearing the party hats, the balloons, playing the games, the cake and ice cream . . .  singing Happy Birthday.  It was all so much fun.  Remember those old cameras with the flash bulbs! You were blind for about 5 minutes after!  

 

Saturday nights meant the Lawrence Welk Show and Hockey Night in Canada.  Sunday nights meant The Wonderful World of Disney and The Ed Sullivan Show.  All were wonderful.  Well, except for maybe the hockey.  My mom and dad were big hockey fans.  They like the Montreal Canadians and there would be lots of shouting and hooting going on.  I think my favourite part of hockey was the little bowl of potato chips we would each get as a treat.  Disney was great.  I liked the cartoon ones the most, but it was all very entertaining.  Good clean fun that was, good clean fun.

I am so blessed that I had a childhood filled with so much.  With the freedom to roam the neighborhood and explore the woods next to our small community . . .  to belong to a small group of children that all got along for the most part and played together fairly well.  For the freedom and inspiration to use my imagination in a multitude of ways. For having been given the opportunity to know God and to develop my faith.  To learn skills both in school and in the Brownies/Girl Guides.  I am grateful for parents that didn't give us every thing we wanted, and who inspired us to work and save for what we had. Who taught us meaningful values and helped us to develop virtues that would hold us in good stead for our lifetimes. For family and family love.  For a mom and dad that did their best for me and for my brother and sister, and for my brother and sister which meant I was never alone and that I would have two wonderful life long friends. 

Family, it is truly a gift from God.

What are some of your favourite childhood memories??  Lets share!

I better get my skates on.  I need to get off here and get ready for church!

A thought to carry with you through the day  . . . 

 

.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *.˛.°All human beings,
male and female,
are created in the image of God. 
Each is a beloved spirit son 
or daughter of heavenly parents, 
and, as such, each has a 
divine nature and destiny.
~The Family Proclamation •。★★ 。* 。 

Spiritual Enlightenment 

 

In the English Kitchen today . . .  Amaretti Stuffed Peaches. Quite simply delicious. 

Have a wonderful and blessed Sunday!  Be safe and don't forget . . . 

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And I do too!