Sunday, June 8, 2008

Survivor

I have always tried to be the best parent I can. I have tried to keep the kids safe while giving them just enough rope. I try everyday and sometimes I feel like I may have missed the mark.

That was until I watched home videos of myself growing-up...

For as long as I remember my parents have talked about organizing the old audio-free home movies onto a video tape. A few weeks ago I finally rounded-up the reels and had them transferred onto a DVD.

1975 through 1987. Most of my childhood. All viewed in 45 minutes.

Disclaimer: I love you Mummy and Dad. Please don't threaten to write me out of the will.

The DVD started from minute one with me as an infant being fed beer.

Everyone around me, inside and out, was smoking.

This little Gruppie was fed cake and ice cream at six months old.

My father was shown holding me upside down and swinging me back and forth. I was under one and supposedly this was a favorite game of mine.

I was just starting to crawl and my family gave me plastic bags to play with.

...and this is just what was caught on the brief home movie! What could I have possibly blocked out?! Dancing on glass? Lion feeding for toddlers? Lawnmower repair?

So I grew to a normal height, have a normal IQ, all of my limbs are firmly attached. I made it out of childhood OK.

Next time I freak out because the kids are eating conventional strawberries, worry that their brains won't develop if they quit playing the violin or spaz as they ride their scooters without helmets, I need to take a step back and give them a longer leash.

If I made it through without a mental or physical scratch (I think) my kids should be better than fine.

*Hello to Michelle over at This is Metrowest. You and your sister came to my fourth birthday party! Pointed hat and all. Who would have thunk that we would both grow-up to be brilliant bloggers? (wink wink)

3 comments:

dolphyngyrl said...

You know, there's a country song about all of that... It's pretty funny what we, as parents, freak out about that isn't a drop in the bucket compared to what we went through as kids

For example, my dad used to let me and his girlfriend's son go play in a nearby field (read: vacant lot, covered in weeds) for hours a day. I would come home with my eyes practically swollen shut from allergies. My kids still don't play outside without a grown up, and they're 9 and 12.

Anonymous said...

Oh the many good times we had on Sweetgrass Lane!
I remember one time we were all playing out in the street and one of the kids (for the life of me I can't remember who) got in a car and pulled the gear into neutral and the car went rolling down the street. The scared kid didn't know how to stop it but luckily it was slow enough that some adult jumped and and slammed on the brakes.
Precious memories!

Gruppie Girl said...

Michelle~ I don't remember the actual car incident, but I don't doubt it for a second. That sounds like something that would happen on the lane.

How did we make it through? A couple of lawyers, a teacher, a nurse, an executive, a few moms, 2 devistatingly beautiful bloggers...100% sucess rate!