When it comes down to it,
there’s nothing as wonderful as family, except of course, a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ. Life is
meaningful and rewarding because of family ties. Our family of origin shapes our values,
morals and important life principles during our childhood and then in our adult
years, we draw on precious memories that transport us across the years –
memories that last a lifetime. As I reflect upon my childhood, I remember the
following incidences that still bring smiles and even laughter when recalled:
My dad’s name was Paul, so to
avoid confusion everyone referred to my brother Paul Robert as Bob. No one ever called him by his given name. During roll call on his first day in
kindergarten my brother did not respond when the teacher called his name. That evening he matter-of-factly said to my
mother, “Mom, guess what? A boy in our
class has the same name as dad and when the teacher called his name he did not
answer her. What a dumb boy!”
It’s miraculous really that
mom survived our early years. I am the middle of seven kids, and I along with
two brothers was born one year apart. We were the mischievous trio. Jeff was three, I was four and Bob was five
when we dumped oatmeal, sugar and flour in the middle of the kitchen floor and
mixed them together. To put it mildly,
mom cried and dad…well!
Grandpa Chandler was lying in
his lounge chair under the maple tree in his front yard, reading the newspaper
and smoking. After a while he flicked
his still lit cigarette into the grass.
Curiosity got the best of my sisters, Brenda and Sharon, when they saw
the smoldering butt. Sharon asked,
“Grandpa, can I take a puff of that cigarette”?
Grandpa, who was not really paying attention said, “Uh-huh.”
Both girls took a deep
drag. Mom was inside the house when
total bedlam broke out in the front yard.
Two girls ran into the house running, gagging, crying, choking and
coughing. As I recall, both turned a
funny shade of green!
My brother Dan was
demonstrating his bicycle riding techniques while Aunt Linda watched. After reaching a high speed, he stood up on
the pedals and yelled, “Hey Linda, look!”
In that split second the handle bar came off in his hands. Dan of course lost control and wiped out on
our gravel road. Aunt Linda laughed so
hard that she lost all bladder control!
Late night visits to the
outhouse were common while visiting our grandparents’ farm. Occasionally, we boys used the side yard
especially when it was dark outside. My
brother Jeff and I strolled out into the light of a full moon one night to use
the “facilities.” An electric fence used
to contain the livestock was close by.
Jeff said, “I dare you to…” I
took his dare and let me put it this way:
I quickly discovered that water is an excellent conductor for
electricity. I was knocked on the
ground!
Ask most anyone who knows
me. I’m not mechanically inclined. One late afternoon dad decided it was time to
teach me how to drive the tractor. I
knew nothing about the “H” principle of driving a stick shift, so I grinded the
gears something terrible. By the time we
reached our driveway, I was so shaken that I not only misused the clutch but I
failed to steer properly. I ran head-on
into our newly constructed picnic table in the front yard. When I finally stopped the tractor and got
off, I beheld in terror, our table lying in a splintered heap!
What about your
childhood? What stories do you tell when
family gets together? What memories
continue to bring smiles and even laughter?
The next time you get
together with your siblings or other family members, take a stroll down memory
lane. Recall your unique funny
stories. Laugh out loud! Life is too short and passes by too quickly
not to include these times of family fun.
