Akunamattata! (Childhood Memories)

Member Name: yackers1

Product:	Childhood Memories
Date:	13/11/08 (228 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: care free, stress free, fun, fun, fun

Disadvantages: Never fully appreciated it at the time

Whilst growing up I never appreciated my childhood. At every stage I wanted to bigger or older, and like almost all of my friends, I was never truly satisfied where I currently was. It is only now I look back that I really appreciate how good childhood was and what a great job my parents did in bringing up me and my two sisters.

For me childhood was a time where I could do what I wanted to when I wanted to (well within reason and set down parameters). There were no stresses and worries and the days rolled in to each other. All the important and 'grown up' things were dealt with by my parents, and it is only now I appreciate what they had to go through and the sacrifices that they made to ensure that we (my sisters and I were happy).

I didn't have to worry about earning money to pay off a mortgage, bills, heating, clothing and putting food on the table. That was the job of my parents. The only money issues I had were trying to extract it out of my parents in order to buy sweets down the local shop. The penny chews were what we used to go for with a battle to get the white mice, strawberries and cola bottles since these always sold first and the shop keeper never got a new order in until all the penny chews had gone.

Extracting money out of mum was easy, well I was mummy's little soldier. Dad, on the other hand, that was a totally different ball game. He used to make us work, and hard for it. Nowadays it would be referred to as slave labour. Stacking fire wood (whilst he was chopping it), clearing the hedge cuttings (whilst he was cutting it), bathing the dog after he had walked it. All this hard work and we would get around 20p. One thing he would never let us do is cut the grass, and it is the same to this day. It is his pride and joy and the stripes are almost as good as those at Norwich City Football ground.

During the early years of my childhood the Japanese were still designing the game consoles we all know and love, although there were some computers about. These included the Commodore 16, Commodore 64 and the Spectrum. During that time I never really took an interest as the tapes used to take so long to load up I got bored waiting.

Our entertainment involved the countryside. I now realise how lucky I was living right in the back end of nowhere. Parents were happy to let their children go outside in the knowledge that we would only be a maximum 15 minute walk/10 minute bike ride from home, there was no chance of being run down (well only by a tractor and we could hear these coming a mile off and out run them on foot), and that if we did anything wrong one of the other villagers would verbally tell us off and inform our parents who would then take matters further if required.

Living right beside the Weavers Way (an old railway line which ran from Cromer to Great Yarmouth which was closed down years and years ago) meant that we had plenty of stomping ground to investigate. There are loads of trees and wooded areas so making tree houses and dens took up a lot of our time. Once made there would then be a battle to try and take the den of another group, usually ending up in tears. It was all good fun though.

I can remember my uncle giving me a fishing rod when I was around 6 and I got the angling bug. A 10 minute walk away from my parents house is the River Ant. In its heyday it used to have barges drawn along it by horses, working locks at the various mills and be a transport system. This form of transportation died out and the industry finished. Barges stopped using the river, the locks closed down, the tow paths became overgrown and weed consumed the river making it very narrow. This is the only way I have known it although I have seen pictures of it in it's hey day. Anyway, I got in to fishing and from then on I spent my life down by the river, mainly sitting on Honing Lock wall fishing, where eels, roach, perch, pike, ruff, minnows, gudgeon and chub were plentiful.

I also look back at two of the three schools I went to with fond memories. The only thing I can remember about primary school is the water tank, the reading corner with loads of big orange cushions that smelt really old and damp and the turtle which was controlled by the computer (you stuck a pen in the turtle, typed in a computer program, hit return and the turtle would then move on its merry way drawing a trail as it went.)

I enjoyed school and was good at it. I was bullied, I think everyone is to a certain extent, although mine wasn't long term or over anything really specific. I was good at school and worked hard, I had a thirst for knowledge and was always asking questions, despite this I still had many friends. I definitely was not the most popular person but I wasn't left alone for being a geek either. The group I was in consisted of many different individuals some were really bright, some liked football, some hated it, some were ravers, some were indie boys. We were all so different but all gelled really well. I think it is this that has given me my open mindedness and general respect for all different types of people. If we were all the same the world would be a boring place.

I appreciate that some people did not enjoy their childhood as much as I enjoyed mine and for that I do feel sorry for them. Your school days are meant to be the best of your life, and I can honestly say that to a certain extent mine were.

Now I am saddled with a mortgage, think about work all the time, worry about the when the next bill is going to arrive, worry about maintaining and running a property, worry about the state of the economy, worry about what is going to happen next. This is just the stress of being an adult in the modern world and I know that I am not the only one with these issues. Bearing this in mind and thinking about my childhood I know where I would rather be.

Summary: I wish I fully appreciated and embraced everything, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.