Throwback Thursday # 66 That Was Then And This Is Now

I’m going through a crazy time in my life right now. I’ve gone from trying to herd kittens to running after a few ducks that keep getting out of line. I have surgery next week and I’m uncertain how long I will be out of commission. So, I’m cheating a bit this week and asking questions like I did in a former Throwback Thursday. They are different questions, but the same style.

If you care to join in, it’s easy.

• Write your own post sharing your memories and leave a pingback to this post in the comments.
• You can use the photo above in your post to make it easier to find.
• Tag it with #TBTMemory or #IRememberWhen.
• If you do not wish to write your own post, feel free to tell your story in the comments below.

This week’s rerun prompt is: That Was Then And This Is Now

1) When you were a kid, what were your creative outlets? As an adult, what have you created that you are most proud of?

2) Have you ever saved someone’s life? Did you ever witness someone’s life being saved? Did someone save your life?

3) Did you ever get lost as a child? How did you handle it? Do you get easily lost now?

4) Did you search out presents your parents hid from you? Did you get caught? Do you hide presents from family members as an adult? Are they ever found?

5) Do you have a special song that was sung to you by either of your parents? Did you sing to your children? (or pets) Care to share the tunes?

6) What’s something you were afraid of as a child? What is something you are afraid of as an adult?

7) What do you wish you would have learned more about in school?

8) Is there something outside of school you were so interested in you taught yourself about it as an adult?

9) What made you laugh most when you were a child? What makes you laugh out loud now?

10) What’s something from your childhood that helped to shape your outlook on life?

My Post follows * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

1) When you were a kid, what were your creative outlets? As an adult, what have you created that you are most proud of? As a child I loved to draw and make paper dolls. As I grew older, I liked to make Barbie clothes and furniture. I am very proud of my scrapbooks and the quilt tops I have made. Hopefully, they will be enjoyed for a long time.

2) Have you ever saved someone’s life? Did you ever witness someone’s life being saved? Did someone save your life? I’ve never personally saved someone’s life, but as a kid I did see lifeguards up close saving a life. It was very cool to me. My mom’s questioning me as a little kid saved my life. If I had gone to sleep after eating the entire bottle of baby aspirin, I would not be here today.

3) Did you ever get lost as a child? How did you handle it? Do you get easily lost now? I did get lost as a child. I was very frightened when I couldn’t find my mom at the beach. I had wandered off, and I was sure I would never find her again. I stood crying on the shore until a nice woman came and asked me what people I was there with and what colored towels were we laying on. She walked around with me until we found my mom. From then on, I always kept track of where we were and what umbrellas were around us.

I am directionally challenged to this day. I have a great fear of getting lost. Thankfully, with navigation on my phone and in my car, I am much more confidant when traveling.

4) Did you search out presents your parents hid from you? Did you get caught? Do you hide presents from family members as an adult? Do they get found? My brothers and I always searched for gifts. Sometimes we found them and shook them to see if we could figure out what was inside. As a teen, I became an expert at removing tape and returning it to its pristine appearance.

When my kids were young I did all sorts of sneaky hiding tricks. I hid gifts at neighbor’s houses. I put the wrong tags on the gifts so if they actually found and opened them they would not be seeing the right presents anyway. The trunk of my car was a great hiding place when they were young.

5) Do you have a special song that was sung to you by either of your parents? Did you sing to your children? (or pets) Care to share the tunes? To the best of my knowledge, I was not sung to as a child. I did sing to my daughters. I sang the chorus from  “K-K-K-Katy (Beautiful Katy) using my children’s names when they were young. I learned the song from a very good friend of my mom’s when we moved to the east coast for a year. She was a wonderful woman to get to know. The song touched my heart and stayed with me. I also sang it to my grandchildren as babies.

6) What’s something you were afraid of as a child? What is something you are afraid of as an adult? As a child I was afraid of enclosed places. I still am claustrophobic. I am very frightened of snakes and mice. Spiders don’t bother me at all though.

7) What do you wish you would have learned more about in school? I wish I had learned more life skills in school. Things like keeping a checking account, getting credit cards, budget planning, and menu planning were all foreign to me as an 18-year-old wife.

8) Is there something outside of school you were so interested in you taught yourself about it? I taught myself about home improvements. There was no internet back when I was starting my own home. I read books from the library and had loads of trial-and-error experiences. I built shelves, painted walls, installed paneling, made my own stencils and stenciled patterns on my kids’ walls, and made a wonderful garden growing my own veggies in the back yard.   

9) What made you laugh most when you were a child? What makes you laugh out loud now? Saturday morning cartoons made me crack up as a kid. I enjoy watching Robin Williams comedies and stage acts when I need a real belly laugh.

10) What’s something from your childhood that helped to shape your outlook on life? My outlook about alcohol was shaped by the time I was 4 years old. I don’t ever drink because of bad experiences. Numerous positive experiences from my childhood came from my elementary teachers. I saw teachers as kind, helpful, caring adults that could be life changers for their students.