thank goodness but from the thought provoking actions of my parents.
1967/8ish... I was an inquisitive kid with a cheery disposition who just
loved to talk to people and ask questions... lots of questions! My family
lived in a working class, salt of the earth, village just outside of
Chesterfield... we lived on the High Street, opposite the Miners Welfare
and everyone shopped at the local butchers, greengrocers etc., on tick.
One day... Mum sat me down on the bed and gave me the 'birds and the
bees' story... I was about seven at the time... I remember feeling incredibly
shocked and I just burst into tears... this episode made a huge impact as I
can still see the whole room to this day... nearly forty years on... I just
wasn't emotionally ready to be told that Daddy puts his penis inside
Mummy... that it was done with love and if anyone else did this then it was
wrong... etc... etc...
As I got older, I recalled this memory occasionally, with puzzlement
because friends of my age were not taught about the 'birds and bees' till
much later. I realised that my feelings were right, that I had been told way
too early so I asked Mum why I'd been told at that time instead of waiting
till I was more mature and able to handle the fact that the Stork was
actually just a stupid looking bird! :)
She reminded me that I used to spend a lot of time with shop owners. It
was a small village and she knew everyone... One particular time I spent a
lot of time in the butchers shop... I think I had a bit of a crush on a young
butcher's boy... During this time I kept asking one of the butchers if I could
go with him when he went on a meat delivery. We were very poor and
travelling in a van was a great treat as I had never travelled in anything
other than a bus at the time... The bloke said yes, if Mum said it was
okay... and that one summer I went with this guy every time he did a
delivery... He was friendly, acted just like all other adults and NEVER
made me feel uncomfortable.
However... Mum said she'd been told that this bloke shouldn't be trusted
around children... but my Mum knew that I enjoyed the trips, that I seemed
happy and she said she asked careful questions of me... so felt that all
was well. She didn't want to (a) spoil my fun and (b) lend credence to what
was probably a rumour.
I was quite surprised when she told me this story and although I
appreciated the fact that she didn't want to judge a person from just
hearsay I admit to feeling that I wasn't cared for enough because if she'd
been wrong then I'd have been left with real scars... As it was she felt she
had armed me with information to make a judgement myself... a bit silly
really as I was only 7 or 8.
Wibbly
xx
