Yesterdays Gone By

My grammar school experiences were great from a social aspect in relating to people but from an academic viewpoint, I learned very little. I was the type that needed to have one-on-one attention in building that educational foundation of early childhood. In first grade I had a lot of trouble learning how to read because I was in a pretty big class filled with boys and girls who had to learn how to read just like me. This was in Greenwich Connecticut. Some were simply not interested in learning; they were only interested in making trouble. There was a group of four boys who fit in this category of troublemakers. I'm sure they brought a wrinkle or two to the teacher's face or a grey hair to her head with their brattiness. She spent all that year yelling at these boys or trying to discipline them in some way that I felt like she taught very little. I moved into second grade without learning how to read. From there we moved to Vermont to the mountains where we had a lot of freedom and plenty of adventures! (I talked about this place in an earlier post on sledding). To add to that sledding story, there many times when my brother(s) would bundle me up like a snow mummy (coat, hat, snowsuit, mittens and scarf and boots) and tie me on the sled and pull me around all over the place while I'd be wrapped in a blanket for extra warmth. It was so much fun!!! It was an adventure...a thrill being pulled around and I couldn't move a muscle with all that clothing on. Yet, I'm so thankful that my brothers included me in on all their fun instead of looking at me as a just handicap person who can't do anything. Someone to be put in a bubble and preserved from any injury.....what a dull life that would be! I had a great childhood going sledding and going on merry-go-rounds in my chair. My brothers would lift me in my chair onto the merry-go-rounds at school and away we'd go! I went on swings when my sisters or brothers held me on their lap and swung. So, you see, I did quite a lot of all that fun stuff kids do in childhood. But back to my story of being educated....I moved into 2nd grade at Sacred Heart in Newport VT. The bottom seven in the family traveled the 40 minute commute to school in our jeep cherokee through wind and snow. Every Tuesday after school the jeep would break down. The jeep was a lemon of a car! My sister came to school with me as my aid and Tuesday was her day to teach CCD at our parish so the jeep breaking down on Tuesdays was quite a memorable experience. Picture being stranded on the back roads of Vermont in the freezing cold dark winters and miles away from home? But it was fun and we were all together. My second grade teacher was a really mild mannered even tempered lady who never raised her voice but had great command over the class. After my sister (who came with me for one semester) I had Mrs. Cassidy as my aid and she taught me how to read since my teacher (Mrs. Schmidt) didn't have time to spend one-on-one time with me as she knew I needed to learn to read. Mrs. Schmidt disciplined by making bad students copy a page by hand from the dictionary. Many a day did this one boy spend staying after school writing out words from the dictionary! She was brilliant because she would punish this way and it wouldn't take time away from her teaching. Sacred Heart was where I received my First Communion and I remember the nuns there made me receive in the hand. I remember it being a nervewracking experience because they insisted I receive in the hand (like everyone else) even though I couldn't raise my arm to my mouth. So, here I was holding the Body of Christ in my hand and thinking "Oh great! Now what? I got to consume it, but how am I going to get it up to my mouth?" A little stressful let me tell you! When we receive Holy Communion, the proper protocol is to make a sign of adoration to the Lord before receiving the Eucharist (whether you receive in the hand or on the tongue) to acknowledge that is Jesus you are about to receive. Then, once you receive the sacred host you must consume it immediately so as not to desecrate it. It is God in the flesh so we should be mindful of that and be respectful of the Eucharist. I knew I couldn't physically feed myself in a sitting position so I was prepared to receive on the tongue. The sister in charge of the First Communicants sort of threw me a curveball when she insisted I receive in my hand. That was ok. I managed to get my arm up to my mouth and consumed the Eucharist within a minute - even though one minute seemed like five! Those were the days of youth when the body was somewhat strong and agile. As I've grown older, the days of feeding myself in my chair are gone and I'm too lazy to attempt what is too physically challenging.