Daily Prompt – Childhood Revisited
by Michelle W. on February 9, 2013

Sure, you turned out pretty good, but is there anything you wish had been different about your childhood? If you have kids, is there anything you wish were different for them?

I don’t have kids….at least not any that I’m aware of or that I know of.

This is awkward (and not because the preceding sentence implies that I am promiscuously putting myself out there).

Does this mean I get the night off then? Yay! Look out fridge, there’s a bottle of wine with my name on it!

Oh wait, there is still 50% of the question left.

Well I got a bunch of stuff that I wish could have been different that doesn’t specifically relate to my childhood. It’s easy to reflect on your life at this point and wish that you had studied different things, approached problems and people in a myriad of various ways but I’m a firm believer that if you desire something, you are never too late to go for it now.

The main thing is that you know you want it and are in a position to do something about it, so go for it – perhaps you’re in an even stronger position than when your were a child because you have the benefit of wisdom and hindsight, along with the financial wherewithal. Not only that but you can also pass this on to your kids, if they want to follow in your glorious footsteps.

I hope mine do someday and I will keenly foster their creativity.

Since I am happy with my upbringing and my parents, this represents a problem for me as a writer in that I have no conflict here to draw upon.

Therefore I would like to share something else about my childhood.

Something that will scare you rotten to your very core.

There are two specific childhood horrors that I could have done without, they’re food related, so be careful if you have just eaten or are planning to eat before this:-

Homemade Rice Pudding

It’s nice isn’t? Just like Mother used to make.

You know what isn’t nice?

Try eating a burnt crispy piece of rice pudding, barfing it back up, then your Mother walks in accusing you of not eating anything and you will damn well eat it all up Mister.

I think you know where this is going and it’s not pretty.

It’s a shame that a fundamental design flaw of rice pudding is that its consistency vaguely resembles chunky vomit.

Yum.

I still think twice about eating rice pudding to this day.Thankfully my Mum redeems herself with the most amazing curries in the world.

This leads me to the second childhood food horror incident, perhaps worse than the rice pudding fiasco. And it includes Wonder Woman.

Brace yourselves.

Apricot sandwiches

Don’t they sound delicious?

[Just Eat It!]

No they don’t.

Not apricot jam.

Not apricot spread.

Whole, ugly, lumpy, squirty, squishy apricots.

In a sammich with nothing else!

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I had to eat these things, whilst Wonder Woman was on the telly in the background.

Talk about negative memory reinforcement – it scarred me worse than Harry Bleedin’ Potter!

Most hot blooded young males would no doubt have a thing for strong, independent females but for years, my apricot experience would haunt me.

Every time a strong, sassy female approached me to ask me out, I would yell and point at them as if they were the pod people from ‘Invasion of The Body Snatchers’ screaming “No, don’t come near me Apricot Fiend!”

Sigmund Freud would have had a field day with this one.

However, I’m very pleased to inform you that I’m now cured, thanks to this:-

She most likely does not want to play the character but I’d happily play with her, if you know what I mean. If you’re reading this Megan, I could eat apricot sandwiches with you any day of the week!*

*Not the weekend though – let’s make it a working day then I can call in sick. No point being a damn fool about it.

So in conclusion, it would be nice to know if any of you have had amusing food related disasters in your childhood that you would like to share with me in the Comments section.

If you want to read about other childhood experiences of my fellow bloggers then try out any of the links below.

Never let the child in you grow up and you’ll always be young at heart – have fun kids!

1. Daily Prompt: Childhood Revisited … It was not the Brady Bunch | Fasting, Food and other musings by determined34
2. Stop Child Abuse! « My thoughts, My life
3. If I could turn back time… « Q the Adult
4. Childhood Revisited | Ramblin’ On
5. Back to the Future. « ayimas
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7. I Ain’t Like Sinatra; I Had Regrets, More Than A Few | The Jittery Goat
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18. Childhood Revisited. « I’m Afraid Of The Dark
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20. My Life As A Child – Daily Prompt | Misanthropic Muse
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22. The Whistler | Honey Did you See that?
23. Daily Prompt: Childhood Revisited | nevercryoverspilledmilk
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25. Childhood Revisted (trigger warning) « Prayers and Promises
26. The Early Years | In My Mother’s Mind
27. Daily Prompt: Childhood Revisited — Dirty Memories | cancerinmythirties
28. Daily Prompt: Childhood Revisited « This Is My Corn
29. To gaze at the sky, in wonderment | Purnimodo
30. First name basis « theseeker
31. Daily Prompt: Childhood Revisited | Waggingmytale’s Blog
32. DP: Childhood Revisited/ Memories of mum moments / M, M, M. | motherofnine9
33. Childhood Revisited: Forsaken | The Writing Culturist
34. Daily Prompt: Childhood Revisited « Edgledge’s Ramblings