Friday, August 22, 2014

When I Was a Kid, I Really Believed...Lots of Things that I Seemed to Have Written about Many Times

Today's Finish the Sentence Friday prompt is "When I was a kid, I really believed..."

Well, I was going to finish it with "...my parents never lied to me", but I already wrote about the time my mom and grandma lied about the shells my siblings and I found and also about the time our duck died and my parents covered it up.  That belief went out the window when I was 16.

I also believed I was going to be a superstar Olympic runner, seeing as how I was the fastest person in our school and in our neighborhood.  To my nine year old self, I was already the fastest person in the world.  That ended when I got to college and had to run people from lots of different states.

I believed I was going to be a fabulous artist. After I won the gold in the 100m, of course.  Remember the mass mailings from "art schools" that had you copy a drawing and send it in?  I drew the best fictional turtle head this side of the Mississippi, I tell you.  A couple of months later, my suspicions (of being a natural) were confirmed when we heard back from the school.  The letter gave an honest to goodness critique of my drawing, including both positive and negative points.  In the end, they thought all I needed was a few classes.
Classes my parents wouldn't pay for.  I remember having a clandestine argument with them about how good I was and how they were stomping all over my dreams and stifling my talent.  Really, they didn't argue all that much.  They said no and I yelled at them, as I was wont to do.  (How could they have predicted that I would be a famous blogger someday and have to draw pictures of pigs?)

I believed dresses and fancy shoes were for people like my sister.  The pretty, nonathletic girls.  You know, a girl who didn't crawl around at recess and have to worry about a boy seeing her underwear.  Now, I wear a skirt to every soccer game above 80 degrees.  They are so much cooler than shorts!

I believed someone was going to try to kidnap my siblings and me.  Most likely during an all-school Mass.  I had an exit strategy and everything.  I outgrew that one by the time I went to high school.

I believed pain in any form other than sports-related was completely not worth it.  I told everyone that I was not about to birth babies.  My plan was to adopt a whole bunch of them and avoid pain altogether.  Clearly that didn't pan out.  I not only loved every bit of pregnancy, I would go through labor and delivery again in a heart beat.

I believed that murderers and monsters lurked under beds and in corn fields thanks to Malachi from "Children of the Corn" and Freddy from "Friday the 13th" and my mom's parenting style which allowed me to watch such things.  Unfortunately, this one stuck.  I won't go in a corn field, and I keep lots of things under my bed so no one can fit under it and stab me from underneath.

How about you?  What did you believe as a child?

Have a lovely day!


Finish the Sentence Friday

23 comments:

  1. As I told Lizzi, yes, there ARE monsters under the bed and they will get you if you dangle an arm or leg off the side of the bed as you sleep or sleep without at least a sheet over you.

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    1. Aha! It wasn't just me insisting on having at least a sheet cover me even in the hottest weather! lol For sure, that sheet kept monsters away:) Hey,don't forget the closets.....

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    2. Yeah...I have to have at least a sheet, too...

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    3. Sheets are very important in monster defense. You will get no argument from me.

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  2. FRIST again! I'm getting good at this! lol

    I believed I was going to be a great dancer, but although several of my school friends went to ballet and tap dancing classes my parents refused to let me go. I never set foot on a dance floor until the age of 26, when I started going to adult disco dancing classes; I found I had a natural talent for it, passed every exam with flying colours, started teaching, then went on to do ballet, tap and competition disco. I finally got my 'five minutes of fame' as a dancer on a late night tv nightclub programme, then went on to get a weekend job as a dancer in a local club. Sadly I never grew tall enough to be a 'proper' dancer but I often wonder - if my parents had allowed me to go to classes when I was a kid would i have become the great dancer I believed I would be?

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    1. Oh.........bleep bleep bleep! lol

      Dyanne posted while I was typing! :(

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    2. Ha! So close! :)

      Wow! You actually achieved your dream! You rock! Or disco. ;) Funny that height disqualifies a person from being a proper dancer. The "lines" weren't long enough?

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  3. You can still be a fabulous artist, because hello the drawing of the pigs was beyond awesome. Plus? Internet? Hello. Do it, sistah. I've ALWAYS been a crappy runner. I remember, even in like 4th grade, wishing I had asthma like the kid who got to sit it out as I was always like 2nd to last, always. I also was too shy to ever try. Dumb. I know. But whatever. You wear skirts to soccer games? I always figured you for another shorts/tshirt girl (but maybe that was projection) like I am. I'll bet you look amazing. And that you stay cool. And that you ARE cool.
    You rock for linking up. Totes. I only say that b/c your kids are cooler than I am and I assume they do? If not, let me know before I continue to embarrass myself, m'kay?

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    1. Yeah, well, can't say being an artist is really something I want to do as a profession. I'll just stick to drawing things as the need arises.

      Ha! Wishing you had asthma? That doesn't surprise me, but it makes me laugh. I always was a shorts/t-shirt person. Some people thought I might even get married in a pair of white sweat pants. Once kids got older, I started paying more attention to what I wear. Don't think I look good every day, though. Just put a tiny bit of thought into what I wear. And skirts are cooler. Try it sometime!

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  4. I remember those turtle drawing pictures! I had great talent also! And I also remember these flyers that used to be in the grocery store, that said "We Need People To Write Children's Books!" and invited you to take their "Free Aptitude Test." When I was 11 or 12 I took the test, and heard back that I would be a perfect candidate for their Young Writers program, if only my parents would cough up $200. They wouldn't. And I was so dismayed that I could not move forward with my writing career!

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    1. Hahahaha!! I saw those fliers, too! Hopefully you've forgiven your parents. How could they know? :)

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  5. What a great collection of childhood beliefs! I think that, even though you might not have become the word's first Olympic sprinting art-dazzling non-pain enduring Mom, you've done some amazing things with your life! Thanks for reminding me about the pig story. I reread it just to refresh my mental image of riding a pig backwards. Still don't know how you got on, much less how you got off!!!

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    1. Aw, thank you, Anna. Getting on was easy. He ran between my legs. Getting off is what proved to be much more difficult. :)

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  6. You had a lot of beliefs. Way cool. As it should be.

    I know I believed there was a real Santa Claus. For years. Not sure when I knew there wasn't a Santa Clause. I was crushed.

    Have a fabulous day. :)

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    1. Oh, poor little Sandee. I don't remember when I stopped believing in Santa. It was probably about the time my parents divorced and we had two Christmas trees in two different houses.

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  7. Well, I missed your pig post but of course, as a former art teacher, I had to go take a look. Yes you could have been a fabulous artist, as well as a funny-story teller. Oh, wait you are!

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    1. Oh, thank you! I didn't know you were an art teacher! That could be such a fun job.

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  8. I never had the under the bed fear, and you blog made me realize why. As a kid I was always shoving things under my bed when it was time to clean-up:)!

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    1. Hahaha!! Makes complete sense! We should tell young parents far and wide. If your kids keep you up with nightmares of monsters under the bed, just encourage them to stuff all of their junk under it.

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  9. I had the monster under the bed thing...in a bed with drawers in it. The only thing under my bed was all my stuffed toys, and I was *still* skeert.

    Whatevs to art - you are a FANTASTIC storyteller :)

    (though draw something for reals and post a pic...)

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    1. Poor little Lizzi. How exactly was a monster supposed to be under your bed?

      Well, you are so sweet. Thanks.

      I'll see what I can do. ;)

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  10. I believed becoming a nun would be the BEST LIFE EVER. Obviously influenced by The Sound of Music because I was not raised Catholic!

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    1. Sometimes I believe that now. I would sometimes love a day of peace and quiet devoted to prayer. Too bad there aren't that many nuns who do that. :)

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Thank you for taking the time to tell me what you're thinking!