Wandering Through The Land Of Nod.

An encounter between a mother and young child, a tricky situation is resolved and old guilt is allayed.

A 1960s Kitchen.

In the semi darkness of our small, low ceilinged and single light bulb lit kitchen, with the Wednesday smell of the Sunday dinner’s leftovers stewing away with onions and carrots, my five-year-old body held itself tense with my hand clenched tightly over my cardigan pocket.

My firm belief was that if I kept myself small and silent, I would be invisible and never be discovered by my older, louder, worldly confident family.

Over the perpetual stories coming from the big brown radio on the condensation-soaked blue windowsill came my mam’s voice.  “Mandy, what have you got in your pocket?  Show me.”

A Crime Discovered.

Terror and guilt gripped me, how did she know?

I pulled out my hand and showed her the little white plastic sheep from the farm set at school.  That afternoon it had taken me to a quiet place of fields, flowers and animals and rescued me from the chaotic, confusing and scary 1960s infant classroom.  I didn’t want to let go of that happy place, so at tidying up time, I tidied the sheep away into my pocket.

I knew that stealing was wrong and that I was a thief.

“Where has that come from and why have you got it?” my mam’s voice cracked open the full extent of my crime.

A Lie or an Aspiration?

“I won it,” I said, “I was very good at school, and the teacher gave it to me as a prize.”  Clearly, it didn’t occur to me that lying was wrong and anyway, in that brief moment, a heroic, winning version of myself had filled my head and made me happy.

A Mother’s Resolution.

For some reason, mam looked a bit concerned.  Clearly, she didn’t recognise this hero in the kitchen.  Then, the concern turned to tired resignation and her voice told me she’d spent quite enough time on this and the potatoes needed to go on, when she said, “well, I expect you just need to take it back tomorrow.”

An up to Date Teacher’s Assessment.

I shared this story at my writing for fun group. Teachers there nodded knowingly and said it was really true to life. Apparently it’s normal for children to get lost in a game at school and take home something that’s made them happy. Also the story about the toy sheep being a prize showed that I had aspiration and was a story teller from a young age!

They also said my mother came across as a good woman who responded very wisely to my sheepish story.

Who am I Grateful to?

• Whoever thought of providing a toy farm in my first classroom.
• My mam who didn’t squash my dream or shout at me and helped me resolve the situation.
• Friends who over sixty years later helped me understand that what I did was normal!

Do you have memories of quirky things you did as a child? Which ones have stayed with you forever?

Wander well,

Mandy.

Things I love:

• Midweek stew.
• A toy farm.
• My writing for fun group.