Posts: 8284
From: The Goober Galaxy
Registered: Apr 2009

posted December 27, 2010 12:16 PM            

---

I was watching Paula Dean's southern cooking show today (ya'll--lol), and she said that she had such a happy childhood. It made me wonder how many others could say the same. While my childhood wasn't horrible, it was a far cry from being happy. Still, I turned out to be very healthy psychologically and well-balanced despite it (it's not what you experience that counts, but how you process it, react to it, and learn from it). I actually think I would be a great dad one day...not just despite my childhood, but maybe because of it. So, has anyone here had a happy one?

------------------
"The stars which shone over Babylon and the stable in Bethlehem still shine as brightly over the Empire State Building and your front yard today. They perform their cycles with the same mathematical precision, and they will continue to affect each thing on earth, including man, as long as the earth exists." Linda Goodman

IP: Logged

Posts: 4336
From: Mars
Registered: Aug 2010

posted December 27, 2010 12:21 PM            

---

I have!

IP: Logged

Posts: 4336
From: Mars
Registered: Aug 2010

posted December 27, 2010 12:25 PM            

---

P2

IP: Logged

Posts: 4336
From: Mars
Registered: Aug 2010

posted December 27, 2010 12:30 PM            

---

P2

IP: Logged

Posts: 4336
From: Mars
Registered: Aug 2010

posted December 27, 2010 12:32 PM            

---

I think part of the reason that we have so many mal-adapted adults is because they were robbed of the appropriate time and place to "grow up" under safe circumstances...

They get arrested during those times...

Instead of growing up and being ready and willing to give the gift of innocence, fun and life to others.

IP: Logged

Posts: 596
From: Arizona with Bear the Leo
Registered: Apr 2010

posted December 27, 2010 01:05 PM            

---

MEEEE!!!! I loved my childhood and everything that I did (even when things were a bit Rocky). I was very fortunate to have two parents that loved me unconditionally, even through their divorce and during the sad times. I have to say, all in all, I was a very happy kid with a wonderful, warm childhood. That is probably why I am still close to my parents to this day.

IP: Logged

Posts: 6358
From:
Registered: Apr 2009

posted December 27, 2010 01:07 PM            

---

i think many people would be better off if their grandparents had raised them! i was raised in a household with 4 girl children spanning 12 years in ages, stay at home mom and usually some extra housekeeping help, in fact one woman liked it so much she lived with us for 5 years...

there were trials and tribulations and emotional dramas (my father was a performer with suitable MO prone to drama) but we lived in the country and had so much roaming freedom i feel sorry for kids today...no one worried where we were unless we failed to show up at dark or dinner. these days if i need to calm down i just head for the nearest wood or quiet outdoor place. we were encouraged to use our imaginations and allowed to figure things out for ourselves.

i miss the space of big houses now. my dad loved a big house, in fact one was a carbon copy of an english manor house, complete with terraced walled gardens, long halls where we sledded on rugs on nasty days, a secret stairway...it was heaven.

IP: Logged

Posts: 273
From: Comin' in good, like a DJ should
Registered: Apr 2009

posted December 27, 2010 02:24 PM            

---

I miss my childhood. It wasn't perfect (nothing in life is!), but I sure was happy....I love my parents and siblings - It's taken me a loooong time to realise that I've been blessed with the ones I have.

IP: Logged

Posts: 738
From: Netherlands
Registered: Dec 2009

posted December 27, 2010 02:59 PM            

---

My childhood was fine until I was 12 years old. I feel very blessed when I think
about that time. I was brought up very safe.
When I was 12 years old my father died. That was a big shock and from then on the growing up began.
Is that the age where childhood ends anyway?
My older borther who's mentally handicapt since he was born is very sad. Buth it was never
a dissapointment to me, for my mother it was, she had an ill born child. Buth ofcourse it hurts to
see your mother sad and see him vulnerable. In my twenties my mother told me something about my father. Sorry i'm not gonna tell any more. Buth now i'm like what kind of person were you dad? Strange i thought i knew you.
So all together it was pretty happy in a way. And you can say you've got bad, worse and worst.

Randall, my reply to your story. Kiss for you.

IP: Logged

Posts: 1314
From: Down the Rabbit Hole
Registered: Jun 2009

posted December 27, 2010 03:00 PM            

---

My vacations spent with my grandmother (winter break, spring break, summer break) were awesome. Like PS, I have many happy memories with her. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect childhood in that regard.

She also took care of me from birth - age 4 until I started preschool (as my child care provider while my parents worked), and then when I was 6 I lived with her for a year after my parents divorced and my mom started her life over.

I felt so full everytime I was with her---full tummy, full heart, full soul.

Perfection.

The rest of the time when I wasn't, life sucked. I had different friends, my mom was emotionally distant, pressures of school, etc.

Life with grandmother = bliss.

But because of her, I would say I had a happy childhood. Her love made up for a lot.

IP: Logged

Posts: 9399
From: Pluto/house next to NickiG
Registered: Sep 2010

posted December 27, 2010 03:01 PM            

---

If we can count grandmothers,mine were totally awesome

------------------
Jesus never put his trust in man cuz he knew what was in man.
Pluto conjunct Deja ,Bruh.

IP: Logged

Posts: 1314
From: Down the Rabbit Hole
Registered: Jun 2009

posted December 27, 2010 03:03 PM            

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by PlutoSquared:
It was the best time of my whole life... spent around my LOVING, BEAUTIFUL Scorpio Grandmother... she made things around her beautiful

---

Mine was a Taurus, but other than that, I can echo this sentiment exactly.

IP: Logged

Posts: 2981
From:
Registered: Apr 2009

posted December 27, 2010 03:52 PM            

---

Even with the nasty stuff, my mother made my life as safe and as comfortable as she could. In a lot of ways, my life was and has been wonderful... I was messed up socially for a while, but well-balanced in most other ways.

Whether we lived in a tiny apartment, or a little house, we were mostly happy. I had my Dad in my life every day, until I was almost four, and then again after the age of fifteen, when we moved back over here - he's been the best man in my life. I mean it when I say that I couldn't have picked a better family if I'd tried.

My grandmother - she had a good side, but she had me stuttering after living with her; I don't remember much, but I do remember my Piscean Aunt, who hardly ever raised her voice, telling her that she'd better never hear her saying something to me again. Grandmother was a Gemini, loved to recite stories and poems, once something tickled her funny bone, she had trouble stopping the laughter, she was a great cook, and she loved to take care of sick people. She played favourites with her children, but she did love them all - she just didn't seem to appreciate the ones who were always there for her.

When I was six, we may have been living with someone who truly didn't care about others, but the flat we were living in was on top of a factory - there was a little community on the roof, and we were surrounded by good people. One woman taught us how to sew, the woman next-door had a little dog, and would check on us on the rare evening my mother was out. A Spanish lady lived in one of the top apartments, two men shared the flat above us - the sociopath cleared out fast one morning, after he'd made me mother scream in pain, due to fear of those guys coming down to see what was wrong. One of my best friends lived in the middle part of the tiny neighbourhood, a woman and her little boy at the other end. As much pain as one person caused, we children were also surrounded by good people.

My mother's whole life has been tough, but she's mostly kept her cheerfulness. Nothing keeps her down (so far, and hopefully not for a long time to come).

IP: Logged

Posts: 5819
From: Sacramento,California
Registered: Apr 2009

posted December 28, 2010 05:01 PM            

---

I definitely didn't have a happy childhood,but I won't go into it. I have already talked about stuff like special education experiences and abuse at home as well as drug addiction,alcoholism,and psychiatric disorders in the family.

I am happy for people that have happy childhoods.

I hope that I have the chance to be married and have children and be a part of their being happy.

------------------
No..I am not a Virgo.

Developmental Neurodiversity Association facebook group.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=131944976821905&ref=ts

IP: Logged

Posts: 1549
From: here, there & everywhere
Registered: Apr 2009

posted December 28, 2010 07:18 PM            

---

I think the key is to get the help we need to deal with or sort thru our abuse. And to make sure if you were abused, to be able to honestly say that you can take care of yourself and your own needs. And that's hard for one to honestly say if you really want a child. But if you can't take care of yourself (especially mentally) than you can't take care of a child.

As for myself I already told of my not so normal childhood on here so not gonna go into it again. But my grandparents for the most part rocked. They were awesome

IP: Logged

Posts: 1549
From: here, there & everywhere
Registered: Apr 2009

posted December 28, 2010 07:19 PM            

---

Oh and Randall.. Paula Dean rocks the Food Network dontcha think?

IP: Logged

Posts: 8284
From: The Goober Galaxy
Registered: Apr 2009

posted December 28, 2010 08:50 PM            

---

Yeah, Paula rules! She sure does love butter a lot, though.

------------------
"The stars which shone over Babylon and the stable in Bethlehem still shine as brightly over the Empire State Building and your front yard today. They perform their cycles with the same mathematical precision, and they will continue to affect each thing on earth, including man, as long as the earth exists." Linda Goodman

IP: Logged

Posts: 9399
From: Pluto/house next to NickiG
Registered: Sep 2010

posted December 28, 2010 09:03 PM            

---

I had two awesome grandmothers.One was a doctor at the time when it was very rare for woman.
She told me that anyone can do the easy things but the person with true character will do the hard things.
When I accomplish something hard such as learning to play classical guitar or learning Spanish,I take pride in that.
I like to challenge myself to go the extra mile.

------------------
Jesus never put his trust in man cuz he knew what was in man.
Pluto conjunct Deja ,Bruh.

IP: Logged

Posts: 9399
From: Pluto/house next to NickiG
Registered: Sep 2010

posted December 28, 2010 09:08 PM            

---

My other grandmother taught me about personal reputation.
She taught me to have values and morals.She said that the easy things can be done by anyone .
It is the hard things that count such as character.
I took it all to heart and am glad I did.
That stuff matters.
It always did.
Things like that are timeless.

------------------
Jesus never put his trust in man cuz he knew what was in man.
Pluto conjunct Deja ,Bruh.

IP: Logged

Posts: 494
From: A Place of Pure Love
Registered: Nov 2010

posted December 28, 2010 09:10 PM            

---

My childhood wasn't terrible, I've heard worse stories than mine, however, it was pretty bad. My mission is to make sure my son has a much better one. He's very happy so I'm doing my job

IP: Logged

Posts: 1549
From: here, there & everywhere
Registered: Apr 2009

posted December 29, 2010 12:24 AM            

---

They call it a cycle of abuse, but it doesn't have to be. We make the choices in our lives. When I first heard that if one was abused as a child the chances of them continuing that cycle are great... it felt like a sentence. Like I was already tagged before I even had kids. That's a terrible thing to tell anyone.

IP: Logged

Posts: 695
From: The Beach
Registered: Apr 2009

posted December 29, 2010 12:46 AM            

---

I guess mine had it's good moments along with the bad. I was blessed in some ways that I didn't really understand until much later.

(not to say I don't wish it was all a lot nicer)

IP: Logged

Posts: 26
From: Pennsylvania
Registered: Dec 2010

posted December 29, 2010 01:16 AM            

---

I had a wonderful childhood. I was truly blessed to have two parents who loved each other deeply. They raised my 3 brothers and I to be close with each other, and to this very day we are.

Unfortunately, it was a sheltered upbringing and it was quite a shock to me to see that life outside of our family wasn't the same for some others. But that was when I went to nursing school and saw such things as abuse, assault, incest and rape. It was an eye opener.

I was lucky to have the parents I had. They never had a fight or argument in front of us kids. I doubt they ever had one, even privately. I didn't know what bickering or arguing was. Not until I married into a family that did and the greatest lesson I learned was the way a man treats his mother is the way he will treat his wife.

Yikes, I thought I was going to have a marriage like my parents, boy was I wrong. It was a Venus conjunct Pluto thing and I think I was obesessed, LOL.

IP: Logged

Posts: 1394
From:
Registered: Aug 2010

posted December 29, 2010 11:08 AM            

---

Solace.

-comfort in disappointment.
-something that gives comfort or consolation.

IP: Logged

Posts: 850
From: Melbourne, Australia
Registered: May 2009

posted December 29, 2010 12:39 PM            

---

I grew up in rough suburbs to uneducated, immigrant parents. While it wasn't the stuff of rainbows and lollipops, it was my entire extended family that made me feel so loved, adored, protected and supported in such unstable and unsafe conditions and environment.

My grandmothers (and my grandpas) saved me from being 1 f*cked up product of my environment.

IP: Logged