Lux Thinking Aloud

I Thank God For My Childhood

1:17 PM


I Thank God For My Childhood

I Thank God For My Childhood

Childhood. I have been thinking a lot about my childhood lately. I think it’s one of the inevitable signs of aging or part of the mid-life crisis.  

No matter, I thank God for my childhood.

Throw-back Thursday, Flashback Fridays and the You-have-an-awesome-childhood-if-you-know-this posts I see in my newsfeed every day don't help.

I miss the innocence of childhood, the curiosity that comes with childhood, childhood’s insatiable thirst for knowledge, the simplicity of life when you were a child. 

Ah, but we have to grow up, to grow old, to be boring adults.

Most of us wish we could go back to our childhood when our only stumble blocks were our bully siblings or classmates, terrifying teachers, doing the chores and in my case, dizzying Math equations.

Childhood for me means playing with my Barbie dolls and jackstones. 

Childhood means eating gigantic bars of chocolates my father would always bring home. 

My childhood was about watching children’s shows on T.V. or Disney movies. 

It was doing household chores reluctantly and eating veggies forcibly. The last two are tortures.  

Childhood means fear of crossing the streets. 

Childhood means being terrified when there’s a stranger at the gate and no one else is home. Oh, the fear!

Childhood is when I thought the scrape on my knee was the most traumatizing thing I would ever face and a high fever would end my life. 

Childhood is when losing a pet is the only heartbreak I’d have to deal with.

I missed out a lot during my childhood. 

My mother never allowed me to join the other children for Christmas carols or even attend the daily offering during Flores de Mayo in our village chapel.  

I was forbidden to play Chinese garter (apparently I was too fragile), I was never allowed to play with other children except for my siblings, cousins, and a very few childhood friends. 

I was never encouraged to try any kind of sports.

These made me an introvert, and I now love being one. 

I’m not a loner. I just prefer smaller crowds, intimate gatherings and I enjoy my Me-time so much. 

Silence is my charger. Serenity is my booster.

Our childhood is amazing. 

Whether we have had a happy childhood or not, it made us who we are today. 

I agree with Bo Sanchez. Our past does not define our future. However, it sure does affect our present in more ways than one.

I may have suffered a lot during my childhood (middle child syndrome), but I believe that those exaggerated sufferings in my memory were nothing but a preparation for what I had and still might face in the real world. 

There were ups and downs in my childhood. 

There were heartbreaks (broken friendships, betrayals, rejections, death).

Failures (Math!!!).

Fears (frogs, crossing the street, the fear of being kidnapped---blame it on the media).

Hardships (chores!).

But, there were quick beach getaways too, new toys, ample supply of sweets, pretzels and cheese balls, games, the fun of dancing, and a lot more.

Whenever I see children begging for food or working hard at an early age, I would pause and thank God for my childhood.  

Priceless childhood memories:

1. Dancing to any kind of music with my sibs and cousins. I have a picture of me and my cousin dancing in matching costumes in the living room. 

2. Birthday parties. (Minus the games)

3. Going home to a fridge full of Mars Bars, Toblerone (all flavors), Twix, Baby Ruth, Butterfinger, Hershey's, M&M’s, Snickers, and boxes of Pretzels, Cheese Balls and other junk foods. I think I’ve had enough of junk food that I now prefer munching on healthy stuff.  

4. Disney movies.

5. Playing with my Barbies.

6. Eating Milo and Nido powder

7. Message relay. It’s the only parlor game I was good at. I was a klutz.

8. Eating dirty ice cream, ice scramble, or fish balls after school.

9. Watching Cedie, Ang Munting Prinsipe---my all time favorite show in the morning. I even faked a fever once so I won’t miss an episode. I was that hooked.

10. Coloring books 

11. Watching Jackie Chan movies, Voltes V (my cousin’s favorite shows), or Dragon Ball Z every afternoon.

12. Lining up with my cousins to kiss my uncle and get a penny in return.

13. Playing Duck Hunt and Super Mario on Nintendo. Yep, Nintendo.

14. Watching the much-anticipated Magandang Gabi Bayan on Halloween

15. Curly hair with bangs!

16. Playing pretend.

17. Climbing trees.

18. Eating Santol until my lips turn white.

19. Chasing chickens and running like crazy when they chase me back.

20. Running around with our dogs

21. Scribbling random names on paper.

22. Drawing stick figures or huge houses with a garden, a dog, and a cat, with the sun at the upper right corner of the paper and birds that were shaped like the letter M of McDonald's. 

23. Eating the nectar of Santan.

24. Blowing bubbles.

25. An afternoon chat with my late Lola and drinking more than half of her Coke in a beer mug which, late have I realized was mixed with a bottle of beer. 

She got me started drinking and I had no idea. No wonder it tasted funny and she’s always giggling every time I gulp it down. Bottoms up!  

I thank God for my childhood. How about you? What's your favorite childhood memory?

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2 comments

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  1. Childhood is truly an important chapter in everyone's life. It is during this stage that we experience many of our FIRSTS. Our almost empty treasure chest of consciousness get's filled up by laughter, loneliness and all other emotions. That's why childhood is enshrined in our hearts.

    This post triggers so much nostalgia that I want to get a pen and paper to scribble down every drop of recollection dripping from my mind.

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  2. i totally agree with you yen. it's the most crucial stage in everyone's lives. it is when our characters are first formed. go scribble and share your childhood memories too. it's fun! :)

    thanks for sharing your thought.

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