When I was a child, my mother told me many short stories, especially when we traveled. These stories are from my past to encourage you to reminisce about your own life. It’s fun and often useful. I hope you’ll giggle and remember some of your determination.
Dogs and a Cat
I was probably two and a half. When my mom and I walked around the park next to us, I saw a mangey, old dog. I wanted to bring it home. “M’on gog, m’on kitchen,” I said. Noisy tears and bystanders wondered what happened as the dog belonged to an unknown neighbor.
The dog didn’t find another home that day, but we owned many wonderful dogs and one calico cat over the years since, which I found for my youngest child. I felt sorry for him at age 10, a stepson. He was missing his prior life. He didn’t seem too interested in taking care of the cat, but he found a clever name from the movie world: “Erma L Douce,” from the title of the 1963 movie, Irma La Douce. The cat lived several years before she ran away. That cat and I didn’t see eye to eye. She was independent but not friendly. I think she knew I was a dog lover at heart.
My Special Friend
I recall someone from my childhood, who is still my friend, although we live in different states. We must have been five years old when we collected white washcloths, a big bunch of them, and thought it was fun to drop them out a second-floor window. My parents were in awe, as they were planting directly below. When my mother questioned us, we muttered that we thought they looked like snowflakes in the summer. We still laugh about it occasionally over the phone as our “accomplishment.”
If You Do This Again…
My mother and dad worked most of my life. We didn’t live far from the elementary school. I ate my food in the school cafeteria starting first grade. I told my mom I would NOT stay for lunch if they served lime Jello with crushed pineapple. My dad threatened me if I did that. Mom admonished me, but the day came when I saw the hated item ahead of me while in the lunch line. I marched down the road to get my own lunch. Fortunately, a neighbor noticed me trudging towards our home which led to a call to my mother, who had to leave her job to pick me up at home. The noises at dinner that evening were loud and threatening, and a talk with my mother and the school principal ensued at school the next day. It frightened me enough to continue to hate lime Jello.
Choosing the Best
Much later I felt like a football player making a decision about college. My parents’ choice for me: Ohio State University, quite near our hometown. I had a French teacher who suggested Baldwin-Wallace near Cleveland, which had a French department well-known “throughout the world.” I chose B-W. Their professors were excellent, but I missed my family, several hours south. I was unhappy. I thought I’d drop out, but rather than quit, I’d try OSU. Their French Department and my trip for the summer to France… I loved it there. My parents danced in the street, I think. I got a suitcase and a ticket to go to France when I graduated.
Teaching French
My experience in my first year of teaching French had challenges. I loved the students but discovered politics. A well-known person wanted me to change his child’s failing grade to “passing,” which flabbergasted me.
Also, a young female student came to me wanting to commit suicide. I don’t know where she is now, but I found help for her. I decided to look at returning to college for a master’s in counselor education. I determined many new methods for helping others.
Most Recently
This week the clothes dryer was clanking while it dried our clothes. Three or four times I said to my husband, “There’s something wrong.” He had no hesitation responding, “You worry too much.”
When I opened the dryer, many one-dollar bills flew around me while trying to unload the nice, what-looked-like 100-dollar bills. I found a silver money clip in the dryer while the money floated throughout the warm underwear and shirts. Carefully, I counted twenty dollars that were needed None were damaged. But one of my lucky bucks must have floated up to my deceased mother for a good laugh! It disappeared.
