We’re all story tellers. Story telling has been a way of passing down lessons about the past and sharing experiences since mankind began. Collecting stories from our ancestors can be a great way to learn about our parents and other older relatives.
This winter I was recording some of my mother’s stories and there was one in particular I thought you’d enjoy. I call it: Don’t Ask for Skates for Christmas. When my mother was young the depression hit. Her father sold magazines and suddenly many people didn’t have the extra money needed to buy something that wasn’t a basic necessity. Christmas was coming and my mother’s older brother told her not to ask for skates because it would make their mother feel bad because she couldn’t afford to buy them. Skates are an especially expensive gift because children’s feet are still growing, they need a new pair every year.
I asked Mother whether she ever got skates. Yes, eventually she did. She went on to tell me that one winter her mother told her to stay off the ice because it was too soft. Being a child, she didn’t listen and she went skating on the frozen lake with some friends. Everything was going well until the ice cracked and she fell in. Her friends rushed over to help her and several more fell in.
Some older children placed long branches on the ice and tried to pull the younger kids out.
A few ended up getting in the freezing cold water to help the younger ones out. It wasn’t deep and the older ones could touch the bottom. I asked Mother if the children had called for help. “No”, she replied. “They didn’t want their parents to know they were skating when they weren’t supposed to be.”
After all the children were safely back on solid ground, they went to the closest house where they were given blankets and hot chocolate. So all ended well.
Do you have some good stories from your parents or your own childhood you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them.
