We
are a couple of months into this adventure of thinking about things from our
lives that have been meaningful and significant to us – the things that have
shaped us into the adults we are. It’s good to remember these things and record
them to share with those who come behind us, and that’s what these Friday posts
are meant to inspire.
Today
my question for you is this: What world events were significant to you as a
child?
You
hear people talk about these stories – the first big events they remember.
Mine
was the Space Shuttle Challenger. By the way, that day was apparently 38 years
ago, now, and that is beyond my comprehension! I’ve blogged about this a couple
of times before, but I’ll revisit it today.
I
was a second grader, and though I know there were significant national and
world events that took place in my lifetime before that day, this is the first one
tied to distinct memories for me. We were in music class, but our school was
undergoing renovations at the time, so we didn’t have an actual classroom to go
to for music that semester. Our very pregnant teacher had a little cart she
rolled around the school, visiting each classroom at its scheduled music time
and holding class in there. I don’t think she loved the arrangement. I also don’t
think she loved being pregnant or really anything about life during that time.
We
were at our desks when the principal interrupted class over the loudspeaker.
His voice sounded tired, sad, and stunned, as he announced what had just
happened and asked the school to observe a moment of silence.
I
didn’t fully understand what he had said, but I could tell from the look on the
teacher’s face that this was very, very bad and was making her bad day/life
even worse. None of us wanted to upset her, so we sat quietly at our desks, and
I don’t remember anything else happening musically until our classroom teacher
returned to claim us.
As
I’ve shared on the blog before, the stories of the astronauts captivated me,
and I made my first ever scrapbook after this event. I cut out newspaper
clippings and glued them to construction paper and tied the pages together with
yarn. I wanted their lives and stories to be remembered and have a place. Somewhere,
in a memory box, I still have that little book.
I
think I was in junior high when the Persian-Gulf War began – and I remember
when it was called Operation: Desert Storm. We learned about it in school, and
our teachers asked us to write letters to service members to encourage them.
There was a guy from our church who was over there, so I chose to write to him,
and I was thrilled when he wrote me back. I saved that letter for a long time
and wouldn’t be surprised if I still had it somewhere.
I
didn’t make a scrapbook about that one, but the budding teacher in me did make
a bulletin board about it. (Yes, I had a bulletin board in my bedroom, because
I often pretended my room was my classroom. I would decorate the board just
like the ones in my mom’s classroom.)
I
also remember the day Princess Diana died. I was in college by then and was a
small group leader for members of the incoming freshman class. I had planned to
take them out for ice cream and was waiting in the lobby of my dorm for them to
meet me. The televisions in the lobby were all playing the news, and I did not
want to leave – even for ice cream. I wanted to stay and watch and try to absorb
what I saw, but eager freshmen appeared, hungry for ice cream. I don’t remember
anything about my time with them that night and can only imagine I was a very
poor host.
Isn’t
it interesting the things that grab our attention – and how they grab
our attention? The things we do to try to understand and cope? The ways we preserve
those memories and what they mean to us?
How
about you? What were the big events from your childhood that grabbed your
attention? How did you work your way through them?
2 comments:
The Falkland Islands War was a big one. I remember members of the Royal Family went to fight and I was worried it was going to devolve into World War III and nuclear bombs and be the end of the world as we knew it.
The fall of the Berlin Wall was another big one for me as I'd just been in East Germany, and at the Wall, in June 1989 so it was the first time a piece of history I'd touched had changed in a MAJOR way.
I also remember the Challenger explosion. They sent us all home, which now seems so unusual and strange. I remember watching coverage for hours.
Since I am as old as dirt, I have many memories of different major events. However, my first memory is the day and the announcement of President Kennedy being killed. I was not yet in school and I remember seeing my mother burst into tears. I asked her why she was crying. Her reply was that the president was killed. By her tears, I knew this was very important and sad.
BTW, my husband helped to write the treaty that brought the Berlin wall down.
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