What Were Your Neighbors Like?

Here's another question for your life story:

What were your neighbors like?

Neighbors can often become our best friends.  Sometimes though neighbors can become enemies.  In your lifetime what kind of neighbors have you had?

When I was growing up, our closest neighbors were half a mile away.  I don't remember playing with the neighbor's kids at their house or mine, but we did spend time together at school, at church, in 4-H clubs, riding bikes together to an activity in town, playing softball together and many other things.  

When my oldest daughter was young we lived in a large city and our neighbors were close to us.  Sometimes my daughter would be playing outside and I would lose track of where she was.  More often than not I would find her sitting on the neighbor's porch hoping their daughter would come out to play with her.

Write about the neighbors you've had in your life.  Were they friends?  How did you get to know them?  Neighbors are an important of our life story. 

Do You Remember Summer Time Rain?

Another question for your life story:

Do you remember summer time rain?

When it is hot I enjoy rain storms.  Summer rain is usually very pleasant.  Just a few days ago when I was walking my dog, it started to rain.  I didn't realize it was raining to begin with.  You really couldn't feel the drops, but I could hear them falling on roofs and other objects.  It was hot so the first drops evaporated away as soon as they touched the ground.  Then the drops started to stay a little longer, but the older drops faded away as new drops hit the ground.  Looking at the sidewalk I thought, "It looks like polka dot rain."  

Sometimes summer rain storms are thunder storms.  They may knock the power out, and they can be damaging computers and other sensitve equipment.  Sometimes the rain may come so fast and hard it creates a flash flood.  Sometimes the storm creates hail.  Summer rain can be interesting.

What do you remember about summer rain storms?  Write down any memories you have?  They are part of your story.

How Did You Stay Cool in the Summer

Another question for your life story:

How did you stay cool in the summer?

When I was young we did not have air conditioning or a swamp cooler.  There may have been two or three weeks when it was hot and uncomfortable.  We never locked our doors, so we left the front door open with just the screen door shut.  A cool breeze went through the house from my bedroom window to the front door.  It made it more tolerable during those hot days.  The afternoon was the hottest and that was when we went down in our basement where it was cool.  

As an adult we used a portable swamp cooler that had to be hand filled with water.  There were a lot of trees surrounding the house which helped to keep it cooler.  Again windows provided cross ventilation especially when a cool breeze was blowing.  

Some people like to go swimming when it's hot.  I don't swim, but I have used a wet cloth to pat on me to cool down with.  I have hung a wet towel in front of a fan or put ice in front of a fan to cool down when the swamp cooler isn't working.  Ice cream and cold drinks are nice when it's hot.  

What have you done to stay cool?  Were the summers hot where you lived or were they moderate?  Did you go swimming or run through the sprinklers when it got hot?  Did you have a basement to stay in when it got hot?  Did you have a favorite foot that you enjoyed when it got hot?  Did you go camping in the mountains when it got hot?  How do you remember cooling down in the summer?  Write those memories as part of your life story. 

What Was Your Favorite Piece of Furniture When You Were Growing Up?

Here's another question to answer for your life story:

What was your favorite piece of furniture when you were growing up?

Do you remember a favorite comfortable chair that you would sit in when you were young?  Do you remember what the table you ate meals at looked like?  Do you remember what you bed was like?

Furniture is an important part of our life story.  If you think about the furniture you had when growing up, it will probably bring back memories of things that happened with that furniture.

I remember when my parents bought a new sofa-bed and two recliners.  We hadn't had the furniture for very long when my sister, who was teaching my Sunday School class, decided to have a party for the members of the class at our house.  Things got out of hand when several of the kids piled on one of the recliners.  It broke. 

When I think of my bed, I remember most the night our cat decided to have her kittens in my bed.  My mother didn't get much sleep that night, nor did I.

Remembering the kitchen table from my childhood brings back good memories.  Eating has always been one of my favorite things.  We rolled out cookie dough, kneaded bread and made other delicious food at the table.  We always ate family meals together around the table.  It was a red Formica table.  My dad would get out his pencil and do some of his figuring right there on the table.  The pencil washed right off from the table when he was through.  That table outlasted more than one set of chairs.  I do remember good things when I think of that table.  Here's a picture of that table.

Write down what you remember about the furniture you grew up with in your house and add to your life story. 

What Was The Nicest Thing Any One Did For You?

Another question for your life story:

What was the nicest thing any one did for you?

I think a question like this can't have just one answer.  The more you think about the nice things people have done for you, the more things you think of.  This should be a great way to add to your life story.  Write down the first thing that comes to your mind.  Then as you think about more nice things that have been done for you, write them down.  Some times the incident may not have seemed like a good thing to start with, but later you discovered what a nice thing it was.

One Christmas, I was alone with my two young daughters.  It was 9:30 at night, and I didn't like answering the door after 9:00 p.m.  I hesitated to open the door.  There was only one knock.  Finally I looked out the window onto the front porch.  There was no one there.  My mind started imagining the worst things.  Maybe someone was checking to see if someone was home.  If no one was home they were planning to break in and rob or vandalize the house.  I got myself so worried that I went throughout the house making sure every window and door was locked and secured.  The next morning when I opened the front door to go out I found a bag beside the door.  Inside the bag were two baby dolls, one for each of my daughters.  It was the first time I ever experienced a Secret Santa.  Someone had done something so nice for my family, yet I had imagined the worst. 

Pick the nicest thing that happened to you and write about it.  Then write about all of the other nice things you remember too.  You will have a great addition to your story.

What Books Do You Remember?

Here's another question to answer for your story:

What books do you remember?

I was thinking about books from my childhood.  I don't remember a lot of books, but I do remember some.  I can remember reading some of Dr. Seuss particularly, "Horton Hears a Who."  I remember "Mr. Popper's Penguins."  My parents read scriptures to us, and I still have a Bible story book that the cover is missing from.  We had a small set of encyclopedias which were very useful when you wanted to research a subject.  When I was in fourth grade there was a library a couple of blocks away from the school.  We had a long wait for the bus to come after school, so we would go to the library and check out books.  I remember checking out almost all of the biographies and autobiographies in the library.  I guess I've always like to read about people's life stories.  When you write your story, include the books you've read and enjoyed.  What goes into our minds does shape us and affects our thinking.  Make sure to include how what you have read has affected you. 

What Kind of Clothing Do You Remember Wearing?

Another question for your story:
What kind of clothing do you remember wearing?
 I remember having to wear dresses to school.  The average length of the dresses was to the middle of the knee until my last couple of years in high school when mini skirts became the fashion.  Short dresses can be cold in the winter. I didn't want to wear shorter dresses the to the knee because it would be cold and I would have to worry about being too revealing.  I still wear dresses for some things like church and weddings and funerals and other special occasions, but I wear longer skirts now.  When I sit I don't have to worry about how I am sitting.  I don't have to tug and pull to make sure my skirt isn't too revealing.  I remember the first time I wore pants was for a trip to an amusement park.  Then there were gymnastics in school where girls were told to wear pants.  For every day things now I wear pants.  I wear tops that don't have too low or wide of necklines.  Although I may not be fashionable, I am comfortable.  I am grateful to be able to dress comfortably.
Do you remember wearing certain types of clothing?  Did you wear anything embarassing or uncomfortable?  How did you feel about it?  Why do you chose to wear the kind of clothing you do now?  Were there any special clothes that you wore at some time in your life?  Writing about the kind of clothing you wore is an important part of your life story.