A post by Red Monkey got me thinking…reminiscing really.
Was all childhood about escape?
I read voraciously as a kid. A lot of fantasy and adventure books – A Wrinkle in Time, The Phoenix and the Carpet, etc. A lot of Enid Blyton.
I basically wanted to be a upper middle class English girl who rode ponies and had magical adventures.
But it wasn’t just a ‘ooooh wouldn’t that be nice’ feeling. I hungered for this life. I ached for it. There was a park near us called Silver Knowes. It had fairy rings in the grass. I used to stand in them. Hoping that the fairies would steal me away.
My life wasn’t bad. I wasn’t beaten, abused or neglected. I had (and still do) and amazing mom.
It never occurred to me to think about those that would miss me while I was away on my ventures. A true narcissistic child mind.
I have a feeling this is fairly typical for most kids, given the ongoing theme of many childrens books.
The core theme in many is ‘self reliance.’ A child faced with incredible odds and forced to deal on their own or with companions, but with no mommy or daddy to help them. Adults in most adventures are usually creatures not to be trusted.
Is all this a reaction to being told continually told what to do and not to do?
That we were all chafing at our confines.
I guess the big differences in all of us are that SOME adults to ‘escape’ and other’s don’t. Some go off to lead wildly adventurous lives and the rest of us stay home.
And do role playing games.
Or World of Warcraft.
Hee…kidding.
My other big thing was drawing. CH and I were saying that we loved those ‘cross-section’ drawings of buildings or planes or boats. I used to draw them…big space ships and so on.
Details. Much planning.
I perhaps should have been an architect.
corgimom says
Lordy, I almost went off into Analytical Land as a former elementary school teacher and children’s lit specialist…but you are spared!
I loved the same sorts of books, and still do. It’s that love that inspires my stories I write for my son about his nighttime adventures (unknown to his moms) flying about with his corgi and meeting all the talking animals and birds. What could be better?
Nothing in all the worlds.
And IMHO you’d make a fine architect because you’d know to plan enough frickin’ SPACE for people with young kids!
Skittles says
When I was a child I tried to escape in as many ways as I could find.. and oh yes, reading was one of those ways. I don’t recall ever wanting to be a princess, but for a long time I wanted a pet pig. (Charlotte’s Web.) I wouldn’t have minded a prince, charming or not, coming to rescue me. That actually carried over into adulthood.
In the last years I’ve escaped into playing online games, blogging, and even WoW. Every once in a while I have to give myself a reality check, turn off the monitor, and walk away to rediscover real life.