Moments

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Calm down, I’m not welcoming another to the family – this is old news!

I’ve long since stopped writing for the daily prompt that WordPress offers us, but I follow several bloggers who do, and yesterday’s was to write about big moments that you remember from history. By coincidence, one of the themes offered by John Holton for this week’s Writer’s Workshop is to base a post around the word moment, so that’s what I’m doing. You can see his full set of prompts in his post here. I’m not going down the history route – there are only so many times we can write about JFK, after all – but I’m taking a much more personal view of this.

Have you ever stopped to try to recall your first memory of your life? Mine is an easy one. I was two and a half, and it was the day that my little sister was born. I had been born in hospital, like most of us are, but in those days the system was much more geared to permitting home births, and that’s what my parents chose for their second born. The day was Friday, 30 March 1956, and from a quick internet search it seems that not much else of note happened in the big wide world on that day. The USSR carried out a nuclear test – their second of the month – but a two year old wouldn’t have known much about that!

Mum and the midwife were upstairs in the bedroom, and I stayed downstairs with Dad in the kitchen, whilst he was making numerous trips upstairs with bowls of water, cups of tea and such. I don’t really recall what I was doing – probably colouring or messing about with plasticine models – but I can still feel the sense of excitement and anticipation that I was feeling then. After what seemed like ages, but I was later assured was actually a very quick period of labour, the happy event occurred, and I was finally allowed to see my sister for the first time. I took the stairs as fast as my little legs would allow and somehow managed not to trip myself up. Being a parent and a grandparent I now have additional perspectives on seeing newly born family members, but they aren’t quite like seeing a sibling for the first time, are they?

We were close as kids, and still are, having overcome a fall out many years back. This is a little snap of us from childhood times:

I have remarked previously that only the most intelligent member of the family was actually looking at the camera for that shot!

As is my wont, I felt like sharing a song about brothers and sisters, but didn’t know of many that would work. After a bit of searching I found one, written from the perspective of a brother recognising that his sister has grown up and is building a life of her own. It is by someone of whom I’d never heard – Rob Finlay – who is actually a professional filmmaker and has his singer-songwriting as a kind of sideline. This is Sister To A Brother and it is rather nice, with a lovely video:

Thinking back to that day has also got me recalling other childhood moments that were special to me. When I was still of pre-school age, around three or four, I guess, I often used to stay with my grandparents. It was a holiday for me and probably a relief for my Mum! Several moments come back to me. There was the time when I woke up one morning to strange noises from the other side of the room, and after my initial terror had subsided I looked out from under the covers to find someone snoring his head off in the other bed in the room, which had always been empty until then. It turned out to be my uncle – my Dad’s brother – who was in the Merchant Navy and had come home on shore leave. No one had thought to pre-warn me, and I can still remember my fear!

Then there was the day when I was out in the front garden after it had been raining. Rain brings out snails, and there were loads of them! For some reason I thought it would be helpful to Grandad if I got them out of his garden  – I must have heard him muttering about them eating his plants – so I started picking them up and throwing them over the wall. My Nan had no idea what I was doing, and it was only when Grandad came home from work and remarked that the path outside was covered in snails that my guilty look betrayed me. Hopefully they all survived and weren’t too traumatised!

The big memory from those days was Monday evenings. Nan and Grandad were lovers of old time ballroom dancing and went to the local club for this. When I was staying with them they took me along. I didn’t dance – I still can’t – but I was treated like royalty by their friends there, and was provided with copious soft drinks. With the sugar content I imbibed I must have been nearly hyperactive, so it wasn’t really a surprise that I never fell asleep while I was there, even at that tender age!

I wanted to play a song to remind me of those days, and whilst this is actually about how our favourite things and places change over time it is a good fit for two reasons. Firstly, it is about dancing, and secondly it was inspired by Ray Davies’ older sister, who tragically died of heart failure during a night out dancing – her favourite pastime. This is The Kinks, with Come Dancing:

I played that song for a Song Lyric Sunday post about eighteen months ago, and it became one of my most popular, so if you want to read more about it just click on the link in the top ten section to the right – it’s at #9.

Moments with families are special, aren’t they? I hope you’ve enjoyed my little stroll down memory lane, and will join me again for another Song Lyric Sunday: this week we have an excellent theme chosen by… er… me. See you there? 😊

49 thoughts on “Moments”

  1. Pingback: That Was October | Take It Easy

  3. Oh, Clive! Tugging on my heart strings with the sister and brother song. Such a sweet video. 💕
    Thanks for sharing precious memories with us. I don’t know the feeling of expectation for a sibling to be born for I am the “spoiled” baby of the family. LOL!

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  4. What wonderful memories of days when you were young. I hope you have been writing all of them you can remember. I tried to write all my early memories down in a notebook. Seems the more I thought of the more memories came back. So much fun! 🙂

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  5. You have a really sharp mind, to remember events from age 2 1/2! 👌 My memories start around 3 or 4…

    Prompts are fine when they resonate, but I see a lot of dross based on these daily things. 🙄 John’s Writer’s Workshop is better, and I also participate occasionally.

    Getting back to your memoir, it was enjoyable to learn more about your early life. Your grandparents going out dancing was the most fun! 😀 And the music is a nice touch as well. Cheers!

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    • I don’t remember anything else from then, but that was a very special day and it has stayed with me.

      You’re right about the dross! I do this one occasionally and Song Lyric Sunday every week, and that’s about it.

      I’m pleased you enjoyed my memories and the music – it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t play something!

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    • I did a few in my early blogging days, but got fed up with them. John’s Writer’s Workshop is one of the few I do these days, and even then not very often – my main one is Song Lyric Sunday, which I never miss.

      I’m pleased you enjoyed these memories, Pete 👍

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  10. Last week Friday, our daughter gave birth to a healthy beautiful baby girl. So, this post has come at just the perfect time. I fully agree, it isn’t the same at all like seeing a sibling or an own child. It is not possible to put those feelings in words.

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