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Old-fashioned things you've done in your day...
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<blockquote data-quote="Pink Elephant" data-source="post: 734527" data-attributes="member: 21572"><p>Nothing to be ashamed of over being gifted with your first bicycle, etc. Do think that work (more so the responsibilities attached to) was good for me. Aside from enjoying buying my own things and paying my own way, having to show up at someone's house to babysit (on time), made me aware at a young age that life wasn't just about me. I think that's why I was always miles ahead of my counterparts when it came to maturity.</p><p></p><p>I recall a friends parents owning a Cadillac when I was still in elementary school, and how that car made me feel so bad. We were poor, and the vehicle my parents drove was rusted-out and out of date. Somehow even today the hurt still resides in me, not as a result of my elementary days and memories, where I always seemed to find myself comparing my parents to others, but rather, when I see an older, rundown vehicle in passing today, it tends to resurrect the awareness I had at such a young age for being different from everyone else as a result of my parents struggling financially, and then my thoughts turn to feeling sorry for the person behind the wheel of the old rundown vehicle.</p><p></p><p>We were allowed dolls of all types, and had many, as did my own kids... drink-and-wet dolls included. I think it's good for a child to have dolls. I remember when my baby brothers had their Big Jim and G.I Joe dolls. They had lines set up in the yard where they could repel the dolls down the string just like in real life, and they had different army stuff for them. So sad to deny a child of play.</p><p></p><p>Changing diapers (for me, SOT), made me feel grown up. Whenever my mom would call out or ask me to change (so-and-so), I felt like a real mom, and that my help was appreciated, which it was. As for the diapers my mom used, when you grow up with cloth in the home and that's all you know, you just run with it. You get used to it, because everyone all around used them, too, so it was the norm. When I was first started changing baby siblings, my mom never had me rinse diapers out. Wet ones went into the pail, and poopy ones went into the toilet to soak. My mom was always right behind me to do the rinsing afterwards.</p><p></p><p>But once I got older and more familiar with the process, any diapers I changed, I rinsed. I was old enough to feel that there was no reason whatsoever as to why I couldn't perform that task, too, and besides, I was already babysitting outside of the home for neighbours and family, so rinsing-out diapers at those homes was a necessary duty. Believe it or not, you get used to it. No, it's not pleasant, but it was a fact of life back then.</p><p></p><p>Diapers, bottles, feedings, outings (stroller rides)... I remember it all from my baby siblings days, probably because I was so involved with them. It just has a way of sticking with one.</p><p></p><p>As for living a full and rich life as a kid, boy, did I ever. I was one of those kids that had already done a lot of domestic things at an early age. Things I know neighbourhood kids my own age never even sniffed, until they were much, much older. My maturity must have shined through, because when neighbourhood moms needed a sitter, it was our phone that always rang. I had made a good solid name for myself in and around the hood as being a mature and reliable babysitter, and all the moms knew it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Pink Elephant, post: 734527, member: 21572"] Nothing to be ashamed of over being gifted with your first bicycle, etc. Do think that work (more so the responsibilities attached to) was good for me. Aside from enjoying buying my own things and paying my own way, having to show up at someone's house to babysit (on time), made me aware at a young age that life wasn't just about me. I think that's why I was always miles ahead of my counterparts when it came to maturity. I recall a friends parents owning a Cadillac when I was still in elementary school, and how that car made me feel so bad. We were poor, and the vehicle my parents drove was rusted-out and out of date. Somehow even today the hurt still resides in me, not as a result of my elementary days and memories, where I always seemed to find myself comparing my parents to others, but rather, when I see an older, rundown vehicle in passing today, it tends to resurrect the awareness I had at such a young age for being different from everyone else as a result of my parents struggling financially, and then my thoughts turn to feeling sorry for the person behind the wheel of the old rundown vehicle. We were allowed dolls of all types, and had many, as did my own kids... drink-and-wet dolls included. I think it's good for a child to have dolls. I remember when my baby brothers had their Big Jim and G.I Joe dolls. They had lines set up in the yard where they could repel the dolls down the string just like in real life, and they had different army stuff for them. So sad to deny a child of play. Changing diapers (for me, SOT), made me feel grown up. Whenever my mom would call out or ask me to change (so-and-so), I felt like a real mom, and that my help was appreciated, which it was. As for the diapers my mom used, when you grow up with cloth in the home and that's all you know, you just run with it. You get used to it, because everyone all around used them, too, so it was the norm. When I was first started changing baby siblings, my mom never had me rinse diapers out. Wet ones went into the pail, and poopy ones went into the toilet to soak. My mom was always right behind me to do the rinsing afterwards. But once I got older and more familiar with the process, any diapers I changed, I rinsed. I was old enough to feel that there was no reason whatsoever as to why I couldn't perform that task, too, and besides, I was already babysitting outside of the home for neighbours and family, so rinsing-out diapers at those homes was a necessary duty. Believe it or not, you get used to it. No, it's not pleasant, but it was a fact of life back then. Diapers, bottles, feedings, outings (stroller rides)... I remember it all from my baby siblings days, probably because I was so involved with them. It just has a way of sticking with one. As for living a full and rich life as a kid, boy, did I ever. I was one of those kids that had already done a lot of domestic things at an early age. Things I know neighbourhood kids my own age never even sniffed, until they were much, much older. My maturity must have shined through, because when neighbourhood moms needed a sitter, it was our phone that always rang. I had made a good solid name for myself in and around the hood as being a mature and reliable babysitter, and all the moms knew it. [/QUOTE]
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