Storytelling Sunday 3 - June

This year Storytelling Sunday asks you to "pick your precious". This is how Sian described it ...

Start looking around, see what you love. Pick Your Precious is for short story tellers and for long. You can take the idea of simply a photo with a few words; or, if you are a can't-stop-yourself storyteller, you can expand as much as you like. The thing to keep in mind is that at the end of the year you'll have a permanent record of the little things you hold dear - and your family will know why you are holding onto them! Doesn't that sound like it might be worth it? No more "Do you really need that?"

Please join us this year. It only takes a minute and even if you only write a story or two, that will be a few more of your stories written down. I have missed playing along over the last two months but it has been just crazy around here! We have almost found a new routine and I added STS to my personal To-Do list using my new app Wunderlist. I even set it to email me and flash me a reminder on screen!  And see, it worked!!!  I'm here on time :-)

If you have read any of my stories this year you will know that I am trying to look through my shoe boxes that have followed me near and far.  I finally got around to opening this one ...

It is filled with letters, newspaper clippings, school reports I wanted to keep, and mementos from weddings and outings.  It is going to take me a while to sort it out!  I had forgotten that I had a pen friend in Spain, until I saw the return address on one of the letters.  I was a letter writer as a kid but I was continually disappointed when people didn't write back!  My family lived far and wide and I loved to write letters :-)  But two things in it caught my eye this morning and so I will write about them this month.

Does your family have any traditions for the first day of the month?  Did you ever do anything at school on the first of the month?  If I remember rightly this story began in the school playground on the first day of the month many, many years ago.  It then spread to home and became ingrained in our family life on the first day of every month.

A pinch and a bunch on the first day of the month, and no returns!

The idea is to quite literally pinch and punch people and they couldn't do it back!  At some point we began to retaliate with "A slap and a kick for being so quick!" which caused the ending be altered to "no returns of ANY kind!" (You could only 'pinch and punch' a person once each month)

The morning of the 1st in our house was like watching a suspenseful thriller.  There was hiding, stalking, and lightning quick movements to get everyone and avoid being gotten.  At one point our step-dad worked morning shifts and so there were two times of attack.  First in the morning and then when we returned from school.  We would drop our bags and try to work out which door was safe to enter, or was there a way to entice him out of the house unsuspectingly so we could all get him at the same time!

Folded in my box I found this piece of paper ...

My brother must have left it on my door so that he could win.  We must have had some sort of conversation the night before about actions speaking louder than words as he noted this on the page ...

I love his pinch and punch pictures!

The LOML was never a fan of this game and when the boys were little it got out of hand and so it died out in our house ... until this year.  Living with my mom and my step-dad has seen the tradition come alive again as they have still done it to each other every month.  The first of May was the first time that it became a real game!  I think there will be lots of sneaking next month!  Maybe I should add it to my to-do list too, with an email reminder and a flashing reminder!

The other interesting item that surfaced in my box was a school project from when I was nine.  It is a booklet (mini-album) all about me.  I have covered some of the details that are not suitable for cyber-space.  I guess I have always been a collector of memories.

This page also contained all of my contact details and full name.  I still love Macgyver and trying new foods!

I didn't really go much for drawing to scale at the time.  My bed actually filled almost my whole room!  Sitting on my bed is Drooper the dog wrapped in a blanket.  Maybe you will meet him in the future :-)

The card that was stuck to my hospital crib when I was born and a lock of hair from my first hair cut ( I was a baldy for a very long time!).  My mom must have kept a record of the place and time.  This hair salon is still there.

And some interesting facts about me including my birth announcement from the newspaper.  I even included a scrap of carpet from my bedroom (I hated that pink carpet and it was ALL through the house!) and the grey vinyl from our kitchen floor.

I think I shall have to try and preserve this a bit better but I am very happy that I have a record of it all.

If you enjoy a story or two why not pop on over to Sian's and join in!

Happy Sunday,

Chipper