When I Was Younger...
A song fic from Grace's point of view as she looks back on her childhood. Song by Lighthouse Family.
My kids were scurrying around me, hyped on the sugar their father gave them after dinner, distracting me from my paperwork.
Looking up, I smiled at my four beautiful children, Lizzie, 9, Sammy, 8, Katie, 6 and Connor, 4 and said, 'I used to be like that once.'
'How was you?' said Connor.
Lifting him into my lap, I said, 'Well, you know me, your auntie Addy, your uncle Mason?'
He nodded in reply, with the others.
'Well, we used to get into a lot of trouble when we were younger. Always running around, always having too much energy, giving the nanny trouble, making Mum late for work, things like that,' said Grace, smiling at the memories.
'What did you do to have fun?' asked Katie.
'Well, I did a lot, more than all of you do now,' she replied. 'I did Ballet, Modern, Tap, Jazz and singing classes, I learnt to play the piano and guitar, I did acting classes, went swimming, did sports like yoga, badminton, netball, anything really. I hated being bored, I loved always being out and doing things, trying new things and meeting new people.'
'Wow,' said Lizzie. 'That's a lot.'
'That's how much I didn't want to be bored,' said Grace with a laugh. 'Your nan was always working, and so was grandad, so when I got old enough, I started to do things for myself. I was the only 12 year old who could cook their dinner every night, and the only one that could look after your aunt and uncle at age 13.'
'You were like superwoman!' exclaimed Katie.
'I probably was,' said Grace, ruffling her daughters hair, despite Katie's protest.
'What was the first thing you remember?' asked Sammy.
'Most people say that they can't remember anything until they're about 2 or 3 years old, but I can remember further back than that,' explained Grace. 'My first memory was when I was about 1 year old maybe. I was just starting to walk. Your nan had her arms open and I was trying to walk into them. I kept falling over, and I kept crying, but your nan took me in her arms and said, 'Grace, it doesn't matter. You try, but don't cry when it doesn't work. It just takes time. It's a miracle you're even here.'
'Why was it a miracle that you were there?' asked Lizzie, confused.
'Mummy had a lot of trouble when she was a baby,' explained Grace, thinking on her feet on how best to tell them this. 'I was in hospital twice before I even started walking.'
'What happened?' asked Sammy.
'I was born too early,' said Grace. 'And so I was very ill. And when I was a little bit older, I fell down the stairs and had to have an operation.'
'That's why you have the scar there,' said Katie, pointing to her stomach.
'Yeah,' she said.
There was a long pause as her children took everything she had told them in.
Thinking, Grace said, 'Come on, it's bedtime!'
After a hectic time of washing the kids and making sure that they had brushed their teeth well enough, Grace got them all into bed.
'Night my babies,' she said, kissing each one on the cheek and hugging them closely, making sure that they were tucked in.
Once they were all settled, Grace made her way into the kitchen, where her husband Chris was waiting for her with a large glass of wine.
'Ah, my hero,' she said, taking the glass and kissing him gently on the lips.
Chris moved towards the radio, turning it on and the volume up. Once the music started playing, he put down the glass.
'Dance with me,' he said, extending his hand to her.
'Okay,' she said, taking it and moving closer to him.
When I was younger By ten I could tell her When staring into her naked face She said why cry little baby Now I am older Instead I'm staring into your ageless face So why cry little baby Why should you worry When I was younger
I seem to remember
Holding a finger while walking to
Mother standing
"I'll love you forever
And I'll tread on the stars just to be with you
Notwithstanding"
Yes, I wished my eyes would never stray
Why cry yeh yeh
Why cry pretty baby
Wipe your eyes yeh yeh
I don't sit on her shoulder
To gaze over worlds that are lower to
The higher standing
Yes, and I wish my eyes will never stray
Why cry yeh yeh
Why cry pretty baby
Wipe your eyes yeh yeh
You know there'll be an answer
When you call
So don't you push or be in a hurry
'Cause learning how to stand
Is why you fall
I seem to remember
Holding a finger while walking to
Mother standing
And as they danced, Grace remembered, walking down memory lane in her mind whilst her feet glided across the ground in her husband's arms. Her childhood.