Sharing My World -2-27-2023

I’m feeling very guilty because we ran out of birdseed. The birds keep coming back to the feeder and I have nothing to give them. Food IS on the way, but I don’t know if it will arrive before nightfall.

QUESTIONS:

Did you attend Sunday School at your local church as a child?

Not even at the local synagogue.

Reminder to everyone: not everyone is (or was) Christian. Some of us are atheists, Moslems, Jews. Hindus. Buddhists. Even within religious groups, not everyone goes to church. Some folks don’t like churches. Others have a belief system that doesn’t fit under a roof. Some people are religious only on important holy days or for weddings and funerals.

So, as for “Sunday School,” my synagogue had one, but I only went twice, Mostly it was out of curiosity and wishing I could fit in to the world a little better. My mother strongly objected to all religious training — except for my brother’s bar mitzvah which she considered an ethnic ritual rather than a religious event. I quit Sunday school after two visits because I was bored — Bible stories seemed silly and less relevant than fairy tales. Also, having my mother sneer at me got on my nerves. She was an intolerant atheist. I wasn’t trying to become religious. I just wanted to “fit it.”

Mom didn’t believe in “fitting in.” She felt “fitting in” implied an intellectual compromise which she forbade. She was firmly of the opinion that especially women should do their own thing. This was something she had never been allowed, so she didn’t fight for herself. She fought for me. Even when she didn’t agree, she still fought for me. It took me years to realize how important that was and how much it mattered not only when I was a child, but as an adult.

She died in 1983. Believe it or not, I miss her more than ever. I want so much to tell her how I turned out and how much she helped me become “me.”

Did you attend after school classes ie. drama, sports, as a teenager?

No. There wasn’t much stuff I found interesting at school. But I was busy with other things. Reading took a huge amount of time. I also took piano lessons which became increasingly important as the years progressed. I spent many hours practicing.

I went to the library a couple of times a week with my friend Carol. It was a two mile walk and we borrowed a lot of heavy books which we had to haul home. None of our mothers’ drove, so we hoofed it.

Carol and I also went to the local movie houses where they showed two features and a cartoon for 11 cents. These were the same theaters Garry went to, but he was five years older than me, so we never met.

Although who knows? Maybe we passed on some Saturday matinee and didn’t know it. When you are ten, a 15-year-old is in a different world.

Did you go to evening classes after you had left school?

No. I thought about it a lot, but never did it. I wanted to go back for a Masters, but just as my application was approved — scholarship and all — my first husband came down with kidney cancer. He was 34 and I was 26. I thought cancer only happened to “old people.”

He recovered, but I never felt I could take time away from building a career. I realized — suddenly — that one should never fully depend on someone else to support you.

After that, I worked until I couldn’t. Every Christmas time when gifts were given, it became obvious. Other women got perfume and jewelry. I got briefcases and other work-related items. I apparently wasn’t a “leisure lady.”

Retirement fixed that. About time!

Do you now belong to any groups/meetings (for example, WI, single (not dating), young Mums, slimming clubs, young wives, Men’s hobbies, etc.)?

No but I’m trying to organize a bridge foursome if I can find three other people who remember how to play. The Senior Center will sponsor us and bridge is a great game for seniors. Even if you don’t play well, it forces you to focus and use your short-term memory. It’s hard to find something that’s fun that requires focus — at least at this age. It’s all too easy to slide into passive activities where you don’t have to do any mental work.

Categories: #Birds, #News, #Photography, Marilyn Armstrong, Share My World, Woodpeckers

Tags: #News, #Photography, food, hot and cold, Marilyn Armstrong, Sharing My World