My Childhood

I had a very happy childhood. My mother had the main responsibility for us as my father was busy working six days a week to support us and working on our house in the little spare time he had. As a consequence, we did not see alot of him and he was more than happy to leave the responsibility of discipline with my mother.

My mother had a natural gift with children and there are two occasions that stick in my mind which I will tell you about.

The first is how my mother prepared me for my first day at school. We lived on a one acre block of land and we had few neighbours then which is nothing like it is now. It had a far more isolated, country feel back in those days.

I did not go to Kindergarten the year before starting Prep and I am not sure if that was due to there not being “four-year-old” Kinder at that time (or in our area), or because we lived too far away for me to be able to attend. My mother could not drive.

At the age of four, my mother introduced school time roleplay at home by packing a small lunchbox for me with a piece of fruit, a couple of biscuits and a sandwich and I also had a book to look at. My “classroom” was under a tall pine tree on the other side of the block, not too close to the house but within clear viewing range of my mother. I even had my small chair to make it feel more like I was sitting in a classroom (albeit an outside one!). My mother had a wonderful imagination. She then explained how I would be in class for a little while before a bell rang which meant I could go outside for “morning play” and eat some fruit or my biscuits. When my mother rang her bell a second time (by banging a saucepan with a metal spoon), I would go back into my “classroom” and listen to my teacher until a third bell rang for lunchtime. Then I could go out again, eat my lunch and play some more.

And so the roleplay continued in a condensed space of time as young children have very short attention spans, and this was not religiously acted out on a daily basis. Besides, my mother did not want to put me OFF school! The roleplay was meant to be fun (which it was) and only acted out to give me a better idea of what I could expect on my first day at school. My mother’s intention was for me not to fret and start my first day in tears.

The summer holidays came to an end and with everything ready for school, I was really looking forward to starting Prep. My mother went with me and I remember there were lots of us kids with our mums milling around the outside of the classroom at the end of the corridor of this long building. A bell rang and it was time for us to go into class. I was very excited and my mum gave me a quick hug and kissed me goodbye with a slight concerned look about leaving me. Unperturbed, I rushed into class, sat down as instructed and waited patiently...and continued waiting...and waiting...and waiting. So many children were crying and clinging to their mothers and I couldn’t understand why. A red headed girl was sitting on the other side of the room and like me, she looked just as bemused by the performance of the other children as I was.

I remember our teacher was desperately trying to usher the parents out and encouraging them to leave quickly and not worry as their children would settle down once their parents were out of sight. As the saying goes: “out of sight, out of mind.” During the settling in madness, the red headed girl and I moved closer to each other and we kept ourselves busy with chatter, completely oblivious to the chaos around us. From memory, we were the only two children in the entire class who did not cry or get upset when our mothers disappeared and as a consequence, were best friends for the greater part of our primary schooling from that day onwards.

My mother needn’t have been concerned. Her school roleplay preparation worked a treat for me and I loved school and I loved learning and for that, I thank my Mum.

The following recollection is testimony to the innate skills of my mother who despite never having studied pyschology (let alone child psychology), seemed to intuitively know just how to deal with us during those tricky situations when we were pushing the limits.

The second occasion I distinctly remember occurred roughly when I was eight years old. I was extremely unhappy about something and I threatened to run away. "Go ahead" my mother calmly stated not pandering to my threat. I was so incensed I went to my room, grabbed a little suitcase, packed some of my most precious things and some clothes and walked back through the kitchen where my mother was. Before I reached the door my mother said: "Don't think I am going to let you go out like that! If someone else is going to start looking after you, then they will get you in the same way you came to me and start from scratch. Take everything off!"

Not ready to admit defeat, I stubbornly took off my dress and stood there in my singlet, panties, shoes and socks. Thinking that was enough, I picked up my suitcase and headed for the door again.

"Oh no you don't" my mother retorted. "When you came into the world you were not fully clothed for me, and if you want to run away, then whoever decides to look after you can also have you the same way I got you, which was naked!"

Stubbornly I removed my shoes, socks and singlet but when it came down to removing my panties, the realisation that I would wandering the streets completely naked hit me. I finally broke down in tears and had to admit defeat.

My mother had effectively killed the running away idea on the spot, not just on that occasion but permanently. The thought never crossed my mind again and I wonder why - LOL!