If you could be 7 years old again...

[Happy Mama]

... for one whole day, knowing what you know now, how would you spend it?

[beaglegal]

Play longer, dance faster, sing louder....back when everyone smiled when you did this and said, "Ah....she is so happy and cute."

[Jen4]

Love it Lori...

I'd help my mom clean without a fuss, then spend the rest of the day hanging out and playing with my sister Steph and soak it all in cause she would be normal again. I'd eat all the ice cream I wanted, cause I would gain a thing, lol.

[sharuanita]

What a fun question! My dad would still be alive, so I would give him lots of hugs and kisses. I would sit at the kitchen table, watch him read the newpaper, and eat a fried bologna sandwich with him. I would watch The Price is Right curled up at my grandma's feet in her living room....breathing in the smell of her house. I would run as fast as I could, climb a tree, and jump a fence. I would pull out my Spirograph and my Fashion Plates and create some fantastic art. I would have a snack of grape kool-aid out of a purple aluminum glass and a PB&J sandwich on the picnic table in our back yard with all the neighborhood kids. I would punch my sisters for being annoying...I could get away with it back then. I would watch Happy Days and Mork & Mindy. Then I would climb into the top bunk in the room I shared with my two sisters, and fall asleep listening to the sounds of my mom and dad talking in the living room.

-Shannon

[HappyGran4]

What a delightful thread. Many thanks Happy Mama for starting it and, for your creative posts Lori, Jen and Shannon. All of this is so very

Early on, when I read only the initial post, I was thinking of my negative memories~~such as my reputation of being a pesky and in-the-way little girl.

Now, I have decided I am going to think it over thoroughly and come back with happy thoughts. In an Eating Addiction Recovery Workshop, I heard it said:

" It is never to late to have a Happy Childhood."

Interesting how mentally putting a happy/positive spin on my memories actually turned them around in such a very short time here. Super neat !!!

Will be looking forward to reading more as others reminisce and also coming back to post myself.

for now,

Kay H.

[Jen4]

Shannon

What a fun question! My dad would still be alive, so I would give him lots of hugs and kisses. I would sit at the kitchen table, watch him read the newpaper, and eat a fried bologna sandwich with him. I would watch The Price is Right curled up at my grandma's feet in her living room....breathing in the smell of her house. I would run as fast as I could, climb a tree, and jump a fence. I would pull out my Spirograph and my Fashion Plates and create some fantastic art. I would have a snack of grape kool-aid out of a purple aluminum glass and a PB&J sandwich on the picnic table in our back yard with all the neighborhood kids. I would punch my sisters for being annoying...I could get away with it back then. I would watch Happy Days and Mork & Mindy. Then I would climb into the top bunk in the room I shared with my two sisters, and fall asleep listening to the sounds of my mom and dad talking in the living room.

Oh my goodness girl you just made me that is a great post and alot of great memories..........

HappyGran4

negative memories

I have a lot of them too... but have learned to let them go and not dwell in the negative....... just the positive memories

[Trish1954]

Only one day? Wow! I've got to use it wisely!

Play outside with the kids on the street, and make sure I climb at least one tree.
Be nice and not mean to the weird kid whose Mom wouldn't let him wear sneakers and he had to wear those hard soled Buster Browns.
Walk to the corner deli and buy some penny candy and a popsicle.
Roller skate up and down the block, and make sure I didn't lose the skate key.
Play Red Rover, Freeze Tag, War, Run the Bases, Jump Rope and Chinese Jump Rope.
Go upstairs and watch Queen for a Day with my Grandma. Hug and kiss her.
Watch a baseball game with my Dad.
Hug and kiss my Mom and make her laugh.
Dance with my Dad by standing on his feet.
Listen to Ella Fitzgerald with him.
Throw stuff down the laundry chute.
Sit outside on the front stoop til the streetlights come on.
Read in bed with a flashlight under the covers.
Do the twist with my sister.
Tell my Mom I do NOT have to wear a snowsuit under my Halloween costume.
Have my Mom or dad read me bedtime story.

Oh my gosh, I could go on and on and on...................

[Sportsfan]

What a fun topic!

If I was 7 years on Halloween....

I'd hurry and cut through the pasture to get home from school.
I'd pick up eggs and clean the chicken water as soon as I got home from school.
I'd bug my brother who was having a barn boy/girl Halloween party. Bugged him so much he gave me a whole bag of carmels just so I'd go away.
I'd get mad because Dad said my brother and I had to squeegy out the hog house before we could go trick or treating. That was the fastest I ever did that job.
Hurry and wrap my body in ace wraps for my mummy costume (then put a winter coat and boots over it) and run to catch up with the town kids who were 1/2 hour ahead of me.
Stop at Mrs. B's house because she always made popcorn balls.
Hit most of the town houses, then stop on the way home at Mrs. B's again because she would give us all the popcorn balls she had left.
Dump candy out on the living room floor and watch my Dad get down to see what we hauled in. He got anything that resembled black licorice.
Have about 5 pieces before Mom put all the candy into a community bowl to share with the older sibs.
Sneak outside to the barn to see if we can catch my brother dancing with a girl.
Wash up and crawl into bed on a sugar high. What a great day.

[Happy Mama]

Originally Posted by sharuanita

What a fun question! My dad would still be alive, so I would give him lots of hugs and kisses. I would sit at the kitchen table, watch him read the newpaper, and eat a fried bologna sandwich with him. I would watch The Price is Right curled up at my grandma's feet in her living room....breathing in the smell of her house. I would run as fast as I could, climb a tree, and jump a fence. I would pull out my Spirograph and my Fashion Plates and create some fantastic art. I would have a snack of grape kool-aid out of a purple aluminum glass and a PB&J sandwich on the picnic table in our back yard with all the neighborhood kids. I would punch my sisters for being annoying...I could get away with it back then. I would watch Happy Days and Mork & Mindy. Then I would climb into the top bunk in the room I shared with my two sisters, and fall asleep listening to the sounds of my mom and dad talking in the living room.

-Shannon

Shannon, you made me cry, too. You sweet, loving girl watching your dad read his newspaper. For some reason that sounds really beautiful to me. He may be gone but one thing is certain... the man was loved.

[Happy Mama]

I would thank my dad for taking us to the park every Saturday. Now I know how mind-numbing that can be at times. I'd sit in the avocado green armchair with him and eat chedder cheese he'd slice for me right there and we'd watch Foghorn Leghorn together and he'd impersonate him and I would laugh til I cried.

I'd find out where my mom always was. She was always in the house but for the life of me I don't know what she was doing. I'd ask her to play with me... something she said she regretted not doing more of. I don't recall her EVER playing with us! And, like Shannon, I would study her closely because she died when I was 28 and the thought of seeing her again aches my heart.

I'd phone my beloved Grandma. Back then long distance was this big deal, too-expensive thing so we never called her. We'd visit once a year but never phone her. That drives me crazy now because we loved each other so much and she must have been so lonely. I'd thank her for leaving me feeling so adored and so special. I lost her when I was an arrogant 17-year-old too cool to allow myself to be adored anymore.

I'd stare into Trixie's warm brown eyes and rub her floppy ears.

I'd make my little brother wear my red flowery pajamas again and we'd play something HE wanted to play for once and not "school".

Sweet memories.

[babysqurl]

I would play kickball in my yard and then barbies at my bff's house. And hopefully while at her house her mom would make us homemade tortillas and pintos. She died 11 years ago last month from Cancer. She was my 'other mom'. Her husband and my dad are best buds. She was my younger sis's godmom too.
Then I'd come home and play ghost in the graveyard or wolf wolf with my brothers and sisters (when I was 7 they all still lived at home, the oldest left for college when I was 10) and I wouldn't mind that I was sharing a bedroom with 3 sisters

[cheri_78755]

If I was seven years old again knowing what I do now...

I didn't have a good childhood. I would tell someone at my school (teacher, nurse, someone) that I was being sexually abused. Maybe that would have saved me 4 years of therapy....no, probably not. Maybe the empowerment of being able to have some control at that stage in my life would have some impact on my subconscience and I wouldn't feel that I have to be fat to be safe.

[Happy Mama]

Originally Posted by cheri_78755

If I was seven years old again knowing what I do now...

I didn't have a good childhood. I would tell someone at my school (teacher, nurse, someone) that I was being sexually abused. Maybe that would have saved me 4 years of therapy....no, probably not. Maybe the empowerment of being able to have some control at that stage in my life would have some impact on my subconscience and I wouldn't feel that I have to be fat to be safe.

Cheri... this message is from the Mom in me to the little girl in you... if I could go back to when you were 7 years old I would steal you away from your crappy situation and I would cuddle you and love you until your sweet little spirit healed up and you could be a happy, playful, outgoing and peaceful little girl again.

I am so truly sad that happened to you. So ANGRY for you. And I wish you peace and JOY.

You sound to me like a wise and powerful woman with solid self knowledge who is in the process of truly healing.

[Mayflower]

You all made me cry

i would have spent it with my grandmother, grandfather, and my uncle. They all passed away and i miss them terribly. I remember making a home-made chocolate butter with my uncle and going to the woods to pick berries and mushrooms, and he would make my sister and i musical instruments. He did not have kids of his own and he loved us so much. He was the kindest man ever. My grandmother was always baking something. She was the greatest cook! It seems like the dough was always waiting to become a pastry. My sister and i would pinch off pieces of it and eat it, and my grandmother would be running after us worrying that the dough will mak us sick. And my granfather was always busy with the church and their huge garden. And his free time-he would always sit by the window, talking about nature and about how time flyes and that he did not notice that he became old. He was not tired of life, he loved it.

Would have spent it with my parents, then still together and happy. And with my sister-would not have changed a thing. Would have still charge her every time she would come to my room (clean air fee lol!!!), punched her for taking my things without my permission, play school with her, and gone to the store to get us some ice-cream.
man, this makes me cry, too!

Happy Mama, why do you do this to us! Thank you...

[bethz]

Playing, making more friends on the playground, doing more silly things, not being as shy, trying more things without being afraid, standing up for myself more often, standing up for others, giving my mom more hugs, not being as sassy, playing more in the dirt, being thankful for the things I took for granted as a kid.

[Happy Mama]

Originally Posted by Mayflower

You all made me cry

Happy Mama, why do you do this to us! Thank you...

Mayflower... I cried, too!

Why do I do it? Because it's Real Life, baby, and I love real life. The sad right along with the happy... both are really beautiful to me. I adore a good cry, don't you? Weird, I know.

Your grandmother, grandfather and uncle sound so wonderful. Your story about your uncle makes me think about all the single men out there who would be such great dads if they had any clue how to snag a good woman. Lots of clueless guys drifting around out there who need a woman!

[Mayflower]

Originally Posted by Happy Mama

Mayflower... I cried, too!

Why do I do it? Because it's Real Life, baby, and I love real life. The sad right along with the happy... both are really beautiful to me. I adore a good cry, don't you? Weird, I know.

Your grandmother, grandfather and uncle sound so wonderful. Your story about your uncle makes me think about all the single men out there who would be such great dads if they had any clue how to snag a good woman. Lots of clueless guys drifting around out there who need a woman!

Happy Mama, i adore a good cry, too:-) Gotta keep them eyes moistened!!

I think good men and good women walk on some parallel roads that rarely cross. I really do!

[IAMATRYING]

If I were 7? I would spend the day with my grandma, eating chicken noodle soup with turtle crackers, watching our daily episode of All My Children. My Aunt Violet might walk over and we would sit on the porch all afternoon talking about people (usually not anyone I knew). My Dad would come pick me up and we would go home and sit in his chair reading the paper, he would eat sardines from a can that always stunk! At bedtime, he would tuck me in and I would feel so safe.

[scrapbug]

Fishing patiently with my dad instead of complaining about the fish not biting. My dad is gone and we used to go fishing a lot when I was around 7.

[On~My~Weigh]

Well, to be honest, I would beg my mom not to leave...she and my dad divorced around the time I was 7 and my dad got custody...I would beg and beg and beg her not to leave!!!

[Happy Mama]

Originally Posted by Mayflower

I think good men and good women walk on some parallel roads that rarely cross. I really do!

Well put!! I think they need an angel whether it be a real one, a loving mutual friend or a personal ad to hook them up. Some people are so unique that they need to go global to find someone. Loneliness bites.

[Happy Mama]

Originally Posted by On~My~Weigh

Well, to be honest, I would beg my mom not to leave...she and my dad divorced around the time I was 7 and my dad got custody...I would beg and beg and beg her not to leave!!!

Again... interesting. Flash forward to 10-years-old and I would be begging my dad to take me with him when my mom kicked him out!

Kids deserve to have their parents keep their s*** together.