Early Childhood Memories - Part III

All right, here we go again ... Back to my childhood. And a little about my first school years. Now it's time to register some memories of my childhood after Daddy's death.

Kindergarten had not worked for me: it had been a nightmare to be in a strange place, in the presence of strangers, away from home, and, most of all, away from Mom. 

My aunt had also lost her husband to a car wreck about three years before Daddy's fatal accident. My uncle had been a crazy, cheerful man! He was a doctor. I remember when he brought living crabs to his house (they used to live in a house then) to make a crab boil; he let the kids (me and his three daughters) play with the crabs, which were tied to a long stick. It was a terrifying and exciting experience. I loved being around my uncle. But that was pretty much all a three-year-old (me) could remember.

After my uncle passed away, my aunt, three cousins, and maternal grandmother moved to the same apartment building close to us. Their apartment was on the first floor, ours on the third. No elevators. There, my Mom and my Aunt, the two widows, shared their sadness but also new life and hopes for the future. Despite the loss, they took solace in watching out for each other and their daughters. I loved being so close to my cousins, who were all girls; it was always nice to have my three older cousins around me.

First grade (the equivalent of second grade in the United States) was better. I attended my neighborhood's Baptist School, right across from my apartment building. Many activities involved music, hymns, theater, and art. As soon as the bell for recess rang, I would run to the front gate and scream for my aunt to bring me my snacks. Her apartment was on the ground floor of the same building in which we lived. She would usually bring me freshly mashed bananas, topped with a little sugar and cereal, and a few other snacks.

Second grade was at a different private school in my neighborhood, just a few blocks from home. It was small, but I also enjoyed the plays, shows, and activities.

A few years later, my aunt and my three cousins moved to an apartment in the same city, but in a different neighborhood. Much to my joy, it wasn't long before we also moved to an apartment there and only half a block from the beach. I changed schools and started third grade at another private school.

New home, new neighborhood, new school! But every time I came home from school or when we had been out somewhere, Mom would say: "Blessed be our Lord Jesus Christ!" And I agreed, as was customary: "Forever be blessed!"

One more chapter had been closed. One more page turned. 

Stay tuned...