For today’s Throwback Thursday, I’m sharing what has got to be one of the worst things I’ve ever written. In my defense, however, I was only six at the time. The whole thing is hilarious, and it’s a little scary how my six-year old brain worked.
First of all, I don’t know why all those people only had a one-bedroom house! (Actually, I do. I grew up as an only child. It was just me and my grandparents. We lived next door to an orange grove, so there weren’t any neighbors to play with. And my grandma never wanted to “impose” on other people by allowing me to go play somewhere else. So for me, being an only child was being a “lonely child.” More than anything, I wanted a house full of kids to play with.)
Second of all, you’d think that everyone over eighteen would’ve been anxious to move out! You can definitely see why Dad worked in Hawaii to get away from all that commotion.
Furthermore, when I told you yesterday that My Three Sons was one of my favorite TV shows when I was a kid, you can see here just how true that was (with the brother Ernie and cousins Chip and Robbie).
If you remember much about being little, you might remember that it was a HUGE DEAL to stay up past midnight! So when Linda here stayed up until 4:30 AM, I can totally see why she thought it was the best New Year’s she ever had. Of course, the fact that she’d only ever lived through four other New Year’s celebrations doesn’t give her much of a measuring stick.
I think the other hysterical part (besides the really bad spelling) is that I gave all this detail in the build-up, and then you blink and the story’s over. There’s no conflict. No resolution. Just an expansive cast of characters in a single tiny room.
Below is the spelling-corrected version in case you can’t decipher my handwriting. (By the way, do you notice how I made the star extra dark? That was the year I finally learned how to draw a star all by myself, and it was a huge deal!
My New Year’s Day – January 1
Once upon a time, there was a little, brown shack on the side of a big, tall hill. It had three rooms – a bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen. At the house lived a girl named Linda. Linda was only five years old. She had four big brothers, and they were named John, Jimmy, Ernie, and Matthew. She only had two big sisters named Sandy and Lisa. Her cousins’ names were Chip and Robbie. They lived with her, too. She had a mom, and her dad was in Hawaii because he had to work there. Sandy was fourteen, and Lisa was twenty-one. John was twelve; Jimmy was sixteen; Ernie was seventeen; and Matthew was ten. Chip and Robbie were nineteen. “It’s finally December 31,” Linda said. They stayed up until 4:30 in the morning. Linda said it was the best New Year’s Day she ever had. The End
Time to talk: Did my story make you laugh? What was the latest you ever stayed up when you were little? If you were one of the older kids in this house, would you move? Would you ever allow your spouse to work in Hawaii while you stayed home in a one-bedroom house with nine kids?
That was pretty darn good for a six year old! 🙂
Thank you. It’s pretty corny, I know, but it does still make me laugh. 🙂
Is your ‘gift of the gab’ to do with Irish heritage (Daugherty is an Irish name I think). I particularly like kids stories – the attention to unusual detail serves to amuse and further reveals that unblemished innocence of the child. Splendid story.
Funny, I like other people’s children’s stories better than my own…. Theirs are cute… Mine are embarrassing. 😉
The thing I liked about your story was that it was insane as only a kids tale can be because it tale is in the subliminal – i.e. staying up late! Plus listing the names and respective ages of the cohorts in fun. Almost a Python – an innocent Python methinks.
Remember when you were a kid ad you proudly had to count the “half years” i.e., I’m six and a HALF! Now, I’m more apt to name the decade minus a dozen or so years! LOL!
Very sweet. You knew how to set the stage as a six-year old; plot development happened at seven, I’m sure.
LOL! That must be it! I still can’t figure out why they only got to have a one room house. LOL! 😀
Too cute. That was really good for a 6 year old. My first endeavor was a poem, but not half as well written as this. The most I can say is that it rhymed. Still not very good at story telling though.
Rhyming is a tough chore for a lot of people, even adults, so you were doing great! I’d love to see it. 🙂
omg, i love every word of your 6 year old story. i tried to stay up late but usually could only make it until around 10. no, i would not want to raise 9 children while my spouse lived in hawaii.
LOL! Thank you! Yeah, I would want to run away to Hawaii if I had 9 kids and only 1 bedroom! What’s kind of messed up is why the cousins couldn’t live with their own parents. I have no idea why I didn’t think that part through. LOL! 😀
This is a beautiful story! I know you are glad you kept it all these years. Thanks for sharing. Now, I’m off to see if I saved any of my stories from that age.
Thank you, Andy! I hope you did… If so, please post them! I’d love to see. 😀
These little essays of yours are great! You are so smart of have held on to them. Yes, staying up late is definitely exciting for a little kid! As for the spouse in Hawaii…yes, I would probably let him go and then yell at him every time I spoke to him because he left me alone with all this hard work to do and HOW COULD HE!!!??? (Excuse me, must have lost myself a minute there.)
LOL! I feel the same way! And frankly, unless he were there working with the intention of finding us all a LARGE house (and SOON), he’d be in big trouble! 😉
I love it! The star is brilliant – I still can’t draw them! 🙂
LOL! Thank you! It was such a HUGE deal to learn to make one of those back then. The things that rented space in my head then are just so funny now. 🙂
Wow…what a story! At six you had the gift to write already!
LOL! Well, I at least had the desire to write… I think the actual gift came later. 🙂
My take on this story is, once again, Rachel, is how you were WAY smart WAY early in life. Your 6-year-old self was mullling over issues in life best left to kids twice, three times that age. Amazing, Rachel. And it all came tumbling out with pen in hand.
LOL! Thank you, Mark! It’s funny what went on in my head back then and just burned to get out and onto paper. I remember the actual day that I wrote this, and oddly, it was not near New Year’s! (Really!)
I love your story Rachel! Kids have the grandest dreams and it doesn’t take much to make them happy. ❤
Diana xo
Thank you, Diana! I guess my dreams were skewed, or else I’d have been the one that ended up in Hawaii! LOL! ❤ 😉
Wow, that’s amazing, and equally amazing is that you still have that story! That’s a really great great momento and dare I say it yardstick? LOL. I wish I had something like that.
LOL! Thank you, Robyn! I am glad I kept the ones of these I do have… I regret going through a “minimalist phase” a few years back and throwing a bunch of stuff away. And yes, it’s definitely a yardstick… At least I HOPE my writing is better than this now! ❤
That’s so charming! I enjoyed reading it, Rachel.
Thank you, Kate! It still makes me laugh when I read it even now. 🙂
Very cute, and yes, it did make me laugh! I remember staying up late was a big deal when I was kid–mostly trying to stay up later to watch a TV show. 🙂 I probably won’t even make it till midnight on New Year’s Eve. Haha.
LOL! I often stay up now only to make sure the old year goes away! 😉
Hahaha. Can’t be too careful! 🙂
LOL! Exactly!