What was your childhood like?

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-23-2003
What was your childhood like?
7
Fri, 06-17-2005 - 12:52pm

Cara sparked this post for me.  What was your childhood like?  Where were you raised?  Was it fun?  Difficult?  Were times hard?  Ideal?  Magical?  Are you raising your family in a similar style? 


(Lurkers, feel free to jump in!)


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What was it like to grow up in the projects?  


My family lived in Roslindale, a suburb of Boston.  We stayed in a housing project, but it didn't seem rundown to us.  It was home.  Most of us had friends whose parents were as attentive as ours were.  Ours was a mixed neighborhood in the 70s.  As you can imagine, we had a myriad of different human conditions.  It didn't matter whether a kid had one parent or two, just so long as you had one.


Our apartment was on the first floor of 27 Beechland Street.  Our home was clean, but infested with roaches.  Once our home was sprayed with bug killer, the roaches would leave to the next place, only to return when "that" place got sprayed.  Ma never let us "see" what the area was really like.  There was pot and stuff, I'm sure, but not anywhere we were!  Teens always urinated in the basement, and Ma would go down and disinfect it with Pine Sol before we got home.  She knew who we played with, and she would drag us to the kid-we-got-into-a-fight with's house.  (That's embarassing!  I hated fighting and I didn't!  Ha!  I just got beat up on!) 


We didn't have a car, but we rode the transit system everywhere we had to go.  Boston has a wicked bus/trolley/subway, so one really didn't need a car.  Once, Daddy got a car, a lot of that ceased.


We never considered ourselved "underpriviledged".  We had bikes, we hopped train tracks and climbed over fences.  We played softball, and climbed rocks and teased and were teased by other kids.   There was no such thing as "babysitting" my litte sisters.  I watched them.  What you didn't do with my mother was sass her.  One kid soon learned not to try that with her.  OOooooooohhh, boy!


There were outings to Jamaica Plain and downtown Boston!  Oh, I loved the museums, and the big stores.  It was magic just to be there!  Trips to our cousin's townhome.  We pretty much did what we wanted with the boundaries our parents set for us.  There were plays and church. 


That is a whole different world then most of us know.  It's true.  I told my children about how the projects were, but they don't understand.  They're probably just as spoiled as we were, but they live in a house.  We lived in apartments, but in "good" areas.  I did as my parents did .. when I noticed things like pot, etc, we left.  I still want to take my children there to see what it was like.  The last time I was there was 1982, and I "saw" with older eyes, my beloved childhood home was rotting and torn down.  It probably looked similar when we left for NC, but man!  That was a reality check!   (We moved to NC in 1975)


Were you afraid or comfortable in your surroundings?  It never dawned on me to be afraid.  The only thing I was afraid of was Ma!  If we did anything we had no business doing, we were going to get whipped!!!


The only thing that scared me was when Ma got into a verbal/physical altercation with a neighbor.  I remember our neighbor, Ms. Glass, pulling Ma up and scolding her on "lowering herself by rolling around with "the trash!" as Ms. Glass refered to the poor woman!  There's standard wherever you live!


 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 06-17-2005 - 2:10pm

I grew up in a very small town in California's Gold Country. Everybody knew everybody, and a lot of them were related. We moved there when I was 2 from the San Francisco Bay Area and so were considered 'outsiders.' Dad was in law enforcement though, and honest and fair and so the town took us in and accepted us. My Mom was very involved in the schools, first as one of my preschool teachers and then as a room mother though elementary school. When I got involved in 4-H she became a leader. By the time I was in high school Dad had become very involved in the Native Sons of the Golden West and the Masons. For being 'outsiders', we were pretty well-known and involved in the community.

Fond memories include playing with neighborhood kids, age and gender didn't matter. The town has an annual celebration called 'Homecoming' that's been going on for well over 100 years. That was the highlight of the social calendar. Ever seen the movie Doc Hollywood? Grady's squash festival, Lou's comment about not being able to poop without everyone knowing what color it was... LOL Yeah, that was my childhood. The politics, the intense loyalty... that movie captures it perfectly.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2003
Fri, 06-17-2005 - 5:43pm

It was a different world, wasn't it.


iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2003
Fri, 06-17-2005 - 6:14pm

I was born into my Irish Protestant family in the 40's in NJ, right across the river from the City.


iVillage Member
Registered: 05-26-2004
Fri, 06-17-2005 - 10:26pm
I was born in a small Revolutionary War town of about 6,000 people in Morris County,NJ. It was typical small town USA. I had close friend since I was a toddler that I still talk to today. I remember playing red light green light and red rover in the street. I remember the lake in the summer and the memories of there. Swim Team was a blast. I remember the beautiful seasons, especially the FALL.
My mom was a good mom...always there, but also worked very hard too. I think the toughest time for me was, when at 37, she had a heart attack and I was the one who found her. She was close to death.
My dad always worked. He provided well and we always went on nice vacations. It was always camping, but the places we went were beatuiful.He was tough and loved to lecture. He was pretty critical too sometimes, but going fishing with him is some of my happiest memories.
Now I'm 14 and things suck! I moved to Florida and have gotten into a bad crowd and turned into wild girl, running away and sneaking out, doing drugs, etc....I took adjustment bad and the first 2 years in Florida i HATED it.
At 16, I met my hubby and through him I meet many amazing friends...my-in-laws.
It was a great chilhood for the most part...the tough time made me stronger
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-31-2003
Sat, 06-18-2005 - 7:52am

Lady Cee ~ Isn't the transit system in Boston the best?

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2005
Tue, 06-21-2005 - 12:45am
reading the child hood my heart goes out to you and thank you for shareing. When I was younger ,home Buffalo NY would go to the foot of main street and sit in the day time among the drunks and loved listening to their stories. (not safe at night) Some poor, some very intelligent, some were wealthy, all sorts. I regard you and many others as precious ones and the things that happened to you ,sorry to hear, at the same time the things you did and would not do over again ,please realize that is no longer you, although society or records may hold it against you, remember that is no longer you so please do not condem yourself, not a religious person but a spiritual being and sign off as usual by imperfect ira present living in Zion,Ill post a lot undr Health and Well being Sharing love and prayers faith zone also some interesting strange under chit chat
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-20-2004
Thu, 06-23-2005 - 2:36pm

This is interesting...


I was born in Chicago, and barely remember our home in a 3 flat there...and Mrs. Lemus, my kindergarten teacher.

Shyla