When I was a child, my parents labeled different things in the house to teach me to read. In our living room, the lamp on the end table would most likely have had a sign taped to it that said “lamp.” In my bedroom, signs for the bed, desk, window, and door were in my line of sight. Even the clock that looked like a flower in our 70’s kitchen had a sign next to it with the word “clock.”
I spent a good part of my early years reading these signs and learning all kinds of new words. My mom tells me that this habit of reading signs stuck with me, and as I got older, I would point out signs on the train like EXIT and STOP. I guess it was a good thing my parents never took the subway. Can you imagine what new words I would have picked up by reading the graffiti on the wall?!
Anyway, the time came for me to move to another room because my baby sister was on the way. The wallpaper my parents picked out was a pretty floral print of pinks and yellows. I can still see the wallpaper of my childhood bedroom in my mind, and when I googled it, I recognized it immediately (see below).
Upon seeing this wallpaper, I yelled out “clock, clock, clock,” pointing to each flower because they reminded me of the flower clock in the kitchen. It made perfect sense to me at the time. I guess my parents didn’t think to put signs out in the garden for flowers, trees, and bushes.
Of course, if they did, they would have missed out on an adorable story about me as a young reader (which they love to tell people at parties).
Thanks, Mom & Dad for teaching me to read. It was definitely a sign of things to come.
I used to be excited about going to the movies. I went all the time as a kid. I loved the big screen and the candy. And it was great to go every year on December 25 because my family celebrated a Jewish Christmas. The movie theater was the only thing open, and my friends were all there. We could hold a minyan if we wanted to because the entire congregation – including the rabbi – filled up the seats.
As a writer, I’m always on the lookout for new blog material. For instance, my son, Andrew, recently asked me what I thought about the latest CDC guidelines for masks and vaccinated people. (I could seriously write an entire blog post about this). We had a good conversation about what to do and where to go from here. It was one of those parenting moments that made me smile. And then I thought, “Wow, this would make a good blog post!”