Found Chocolate
Posted on 2010.02.02 at 10:36Current Mood:
relaxed
Current Music: The Music Goes Round and Round - The Boswell Sisters
My mother made quite a point of keeping our family generously supplied with sweets and other goodies. I think this may have been a reaction to her own scrimping childhood during the Great Depression, but I will save any further psychoanalytical speculation for another time.
Considering that there were 8 kids living under the roof of my childhood (myself plus 7 siblings), there was a good deal less squabbling over food than in many other families I’ve heard about. I think this is a testament to how well stocked Mom kept the shelves in that kitchen. Still, there’s something about discovering hidden sweets that can turn a child’s heart toward larceny…
It wasn’t in the kitchen, in the can cupboard, or even in the dining room. It was in my parents’ bedroom in the top drawer of a high bureau. Still, it was certainly chocolate – a small bar that was sectioned off so as to break into little squares. Even if I had been able to read the lettering on the front, I wouldn’t have read any significance into the word “Ex-Lax” at that point in my life.
And there were witnesses. At least one older sibling witnessed the deed and reported it to Mom as soon as she showed up. I had eaten at least a couple of those squares of chocolate – I don’t recall the precise number, and my sibling took no small pleasure from the act of tattling that I had taken some candy that clearly wasn’t intended for us kids.
I don’t recall that Mom said a great deal to me. I don’t recall any specific admonition for taking something that wasn’t mine; no discussion about why I would have done such a thing. What I do remember is that she briskly and efficiently pulled me into the bathroom, set me on the throne, and told me to stay there. I recall feeling puzzled and a little scared about why she would compel me to do such a thing. Very soon though, my questions were answered in a very personal manner. Let’s just say that learning is sometimes both an internal and an external process, and that it’s a lesson that has stayed with me. And while it didn’t lessen my fondness for chocolate, it may have accelerated the development of my reading and comprehension skills!
Considering that there were 8 kids living under the roof of my childhood (myself plus 7 siblings), there was a good deal less squabbling over food than in many other families I’ve heard about. I think this is a testament to how well stocked Mom kept the shelves in that kitchen. Still, there’s something about discovering hidden sweets that can turn a child’s heart toward larceny…
It wasn’t in the kitchen, in the can cupboard, or even in the dining room. It was in my parents’ bedroom in the top drawer of a high bureau. Still, it was certainly chocolate – a small bar that was sectioned off so as to break into little squares. Even if I had been able to read the lettering on the front, I wouldn’t have read any significance into the word “Ex-Lax” at that point in my life.
And there were witnesses. At least one older sibling witnessed the deed and reported it to Mom as soon as she showed up. I had eaten at least a couple of those squares of chocolate – I don’t recall the precise number, and my sibling took no small pleasure from the act of tattling that I had taken some candy that clearly wasn’t intended for us kids.
I don’t recall that Mom said a great deal to me. I don’t recall any specific admonition for taking something that wasn’t mine; no discussion about why I would have done such a thing. What I do remember is that she briskly and efficiently pulled me into the bathroom, set me on the throne, and told me to stay there. I recall feeling puzzled and a little scared about why she would compel me to do such a thing. Very soon though, my questions were answered in a very personal manner. Let’s just say that learning is sometimes both an internal and an external process, and that it’s a lesson that has stayed with me. And while it didn’t lessen my fondness for chocolate, it may have accelerated the development of my reading and comprehension skills!
