Image used with permission from E By Elaine
When I think back on my childhood memories, I see moments — like it’s on a patchwork quilt.
I am two. My second brother pushes me, and I fall and land on our pet dog, Rufus. Sweet, gentle Rufus turns his head as I land, then growls and snaps at my ear. I remember being horrified and offended at the same time. At my brother. Lesson learned – watch where you fall, little one.
I am two and a half. I sit proudly with my baby sister in my lap. I smile at her, she’s my new doll. Except she moves, and gurgles! I’ve never loved anything or anyone more. Lesson learned – sisters are awesome.
I am four. In kindergarten, a bigger girl pushes me off the swing. I shrug, walk to the sand pit and start digging with a little spade, pouring sand into a bucket. She comes over, snatches the spade off me, throws it. Outwardly, I shrug. Inwardly, my four-year old self holds a deep-seated grudge that would last for over 20 years. Lesson learned – forgive and forget.
I am six. Running, screaming from my second brother (again) wham! Right temple makes contact with a wall, sneakily hiding behind a thick curtain. Six-year old head splits, blood spills and a scar forms, forever reminding me of this lesson learned – watch where you’re going, literally and metaphorically. You never know what’s behind that curtain.
I am seven. My nanny and the housekeeper, who’s looked after me since I was born (I was told) is leaving. There are tears. From my mother. She told me years later she was terrified of having to look after 4 children all by herself. She couldn’t even cook. Lesson learned – never, ever depend on just one person. Also? Learn to cook.
I am eight. My parents are out for the night, leaving us kids with my 13 year old brother in charge. He slights me in a manner which I can’t recall now. I threaten to tell my father. I do. I hear yelling, then screaming. He’s being belted. I lie in bed and whimper, thinking how much trouble I’m now in with my brother. Lesson learned – don’t be a telltale.
I am ten. Standing behind my second brother (yet again), who’s holding a lit match, balancing on the bathtub, as he lights the old-fashioned water heater. A swift turn of the body, a lit match goes straight into my eye – fortunately, my reflexes are faster than my screams. Result, a burned eyelid and no lasting effects. Lesson learned – stay away from your sibling who seems to attract danger.
I am twelve. Teetering on the edge of puberty. I pick a fight with my younger sister, ten. It’s a battle of hair pulling, scratching and arm biting. Result? I get blamed and punished. Lesson learned – older siblings are supposed to know better.Â
What lessons did you learn from your childhood?
This has been an original post to World Moms Blog by Alison Lee in Kuala-Lumpur, Malaysia. She can also be found blogging at Mama Wants This!Â
Photo credit (with permission) to E By Elaine.
Alison
Alison is a former PR professional turned stay-at-home mother to two boys. Growing up in a small city of Ipoh, Malaysia, Alison left home at 17 to pursue her studies in the big city of Kuala Lumpur. At 19, she headed to University of Leeds in England and graduated with a degree in Communications. Returning home to Malaysia in 1999, she began a 10-year career in public relations, event planning, and marketing, working for various PR agencies and one of the world's biggest sports brands. After a decade of launch parties and product launches, concerts and award shows, international press junkets and world travel, Alison traded all that in for a life as a first time mother in 2009, and has not looked back since. Aside from writing for her blog, Writing, Wishing, Alison is the Founder and chief social media strategist for Little Love Media.
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Great post Alison! You’re all over the place this week!
I liked how you linked all these memories to a lesson learned. I’m also amazed you have memories of when you were 2 years old!
The dog incident? Is one of my earliest memories. It’s literally seared into my mind. Thanks for coming over and reading!
Awesome post as always, Alison! One of the lessons that I vividly learn was to watch out for snakes when you are climbing trees. Holding their cold body then fell off a high tree is no fun 😀
Haha!! Oh my goodness, that would scare the pants off me!
A lovely article! I’ll have to have a think about what lessons I learned… surely I learned something…
Thanks Asta! Some of the lessons we learned, are the most subtle ones, and we don’t even realize they’re lessons til later 🙂
I love this post. It has taken me right back in time to my childhood. Here are some lessons I learned:
I am twelve. At school I find myself part of a girl gang (of sorts). I argue with the gang “leader” who is being mean and she just gets meaner. She makes sure that no-one in the gang speaks to me. And they don’t. I am lonely for about a week and then my friends start breaking their silence, one by one. The gang falls apart. Lessons learned – gangs suck; keep a few friends close; it’s in my nature to stand up for what I believe in and even though it may be tough, I’ll do it and gather courage for the next time.
Thanks Tania! That is a tough but good lesson to learn at 12. Standing up for yourself will hold you in good stead in life. Thanks for reading!
Tania,
Thank you for sharing your lesson learned. I enjoyed reading it!
Jen 🙂
That’s a lot of lessons. I love #7 the most. Hands down. Good work, Alison.
Thank you Missy, for coming by, reading and commenting.
Alison,
I love the way you took us back and introduced us to pieces of your childhood. It’s so great to get to know you better! And, it has me wondering what the lessons that my kids will learn will be…
I’m still thinking of a lesson to share here…
Great post, Alison! I know it must have been a tough post to write. I hope it was so worth it to you!
Jen 🙂
Thank you Jen! This is why I love writing for World Moms Blog, it challenges one to write outside of one’s comfort zone. 🙂
What a wonderfully written post Alison! I too have staggered memories of things as a child, but do not remember being 2! 🙂 One that I do remember when I must have been 4 or 5 is that I was playing in the yard at school and running too close to the swings. Of course someone on a swing at that same moment comes flying into me, and knocks me over. There is blood everywhere, a pebble got lodged into my palm and my mother is called. I still have a scar on my hand from that incident. Lesson learned (and I am sure to teach this to my kids every time we go to the playground), don’t run or walk too close to the swings! 🙂
PS Interestingly enough my younger sister has the same six year old memory as you (although she was closer to 2 or 3).
Thank you! The 2 year old incident is one of my earliest memories 🙂 Oh yes, the swings! I remember being very cautious of walking near swings, I remember seeing a kid being kicked, ouch.
Man, I don’t think I learned hardly anything in my childhood, you were clearly a far smarter kid than I!
Haha! You must have learned how to be so funny somewhere along the way 🙂
Fantastic post! I love your writing here, Alison. A lot of this made me cringe though. Great lessons learned!
Thanks Robin! Especially the landing on dog, near head split and almost-lost eye incidents? 🙂
Girl you have a great memory! I don’t think I could tell you a memory before I was 5! Sounds like your second brother does attract trouble!
There are probably many, many more incidents and lessons buried somewhere in my head 🙂 Yes, my 2nd brother was a trouble magnet!
Can I just say, that brother of yours… he’s quite something, wasn’t he? LOL
But then, you wouldn’t be who you are today if it weren’t for all that… the good and the bad… And at the end of it all, you could look back at your childhood and treasure all those times… That’s all that matters.
This post made me so nostalgic… 🙂
Yes, my 2nd brother and I have many memories together, mostly him getting me into some kind of trouble or injury hahaha. Glad it brought nostalgia!
I suppose learn from mistakes really is true in your case…Great post!
Yes, absolutely!
So many great memories. And so wonderfully vivid.
I have very few memories. I have a hard time remembering anything.
Thank you Suniverse! I thought I didn’t remember anything too, but once I started, they came streaming back.
You got me with the forgive and forget one. Still learning there.
And match in the eye? ouch.
I enjoyed hearing a bit about your siblings and mother and father. Adds another dimension!
Yes, some lessons are lifelong, aren’t they?
I do have many stories of my family, I just don’t tell them much on my blog. 🙂
Oh my gosh – I laughed at the comment to stay away from your brother who attracts danger.
You know, after I was hit by a car, my childhood memories were few and they were all somber, in black and white. I’m only recently regaining the color.
Yes, mostly danger to me 🙂
Gosh I’m sorry about your car accident, must have been terrifying. Glad to hear the color is coming back.
I adore this post. The cutest little antidotes and I think that is how you remember your childhood; pieces and bits of memories both good and bad. And so many lessons learned.
Thank you Heather. These are some of my favorite and most vivid childhood anecdotes. Some lessons are not so obvious, but I can always find something 🙂
A match in the eye! This makes me curious about your relationship with that brother, now. Love the patchwork analogy – so true about memories, especially those from when we were young.
Haha! My brother and I are now fine, but we do live oceans apart – he’s in San Francisco and we see each other maybe every 2-3 years, maybe less. The patchwork analogy came immediately to mind when I was thinking about this post.
I always say that I don’t remember much about my childhood – like I’m blocking it out or something. But your post reminded me that life is made up of moments and just because I don’t remember everything in narrative doesn’t mean I don’t remember important moments or lessons. Memory can be like a patchwork quilt.
I don’t remember my childhood as a narrative, though if I pieced things together, I might be able to form a narrative of sorts 🙂
Some of this made me cringe and giggle. A lit match to the eye?? Ouch! Great post, Alison! And yes, lessons learned!
Thank you Kim! Yes that match in the eye was awful, you should have heard my screams, my brother thought he’d blinded me.:)
These are powerful memories, Alison. You described them so well. I don’t think I have memories from when I was 2…that must have been very scary for you!
Wonderful post 🙂
Thanks Jen. I don’t remember much from 2, but that is seared in my mind!
Terrific post, Alison! It’s funny – I don’t have a keen sense of smell, but if I smell certain things – they bring back strong memories!
I grew up in a very large, loud, action-packed family and was the youngest, quietest child. I looked at my brothers and sisters – watching them pit themselves against my parents, teachers, bedtime…whatever – and never winning. The lesson I learned was it wasn’t worth it….I pretty much kept to myself, raised myself and never needed discipline!
Lesson Learned? Pick your battles!
Thanks Ann! I think you were a very smart child!!
I love it! How do you even remember all of those things? I can’t even remember what I ate for dinner.
Thanks Carri! Funnily, I don’t remember what I ate for dinner, but I do remember a lot of my childhood. Hehe.
I learned from the lessons your shared! I love your writing style.
Thank you, I’m glad you find the lessons useful 🙂
Love your approach to this Alison- great post!
Thank you Mary Lauren!
Great lessons learned from such memorable experiences! Beautifully written, too.
Thank you so much for reading!
Great post! I loved this. So much of it is universal, but with your own twist to it.
Thank you Natalie! Yes, I imagine most of us have similar experiences, despite our cultural differences. This is why I love writing for WMB 🙂
This is a perfect example of how blogging can unite people from around the globe. We all learn the same lessons, but how we arrive at those wise conclusions can be so different.
Agreed, Julie!
Alison! I ADORE this! Your writing is lovely, and the lessons learned are so, so poignant!
Thank you Galit. You have no idea how much it thrills me for you to love my writing, truly.
Great post Alison! As for me, as a child I always tried to sneak stuff of my sister’s when she explicitly told me I couldn’t use them (clothes, purses, etc.) The problem is I am a total and utter klutz. I invite disaster, and I accidentally destroyed so many things of hers after having took them without her permission. My lesson – You can’t hide dishonesty. Karma will put a tear in that sweater that you can never remove!
It’s great to take the time and reflect on those early lessons, isn’t it? I really enjoyed your wry comments about each situation. 🙂