Reminiscing on Tuesday

This morning, before I left for work, I took a few minutes to water the newly emerging bean seedlings.  I was reminded of a line or two of a poem I learned when I was in school, when I was in the 8^th grade, I believe.  “Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee” (W.B. Yeats, “Lake Isle of Innisfree”).  I have often wondered why he was going to plant nine rows of beans.  Why not ten?  Or eight?  I only have two rows of beans and no hive at all, although I’ve plenty of bees humming around the lemon flowers and the bottle brush flowers.  Oh, and wasps making another nest under the eaves; this time, just above my bedroom window!  I noticed that, too, this morning, as I was bringing in the trash cans from the curb, after they had been emptied. 

 

The snippet of poem led me to reminiscing, first about the various poems we were taught at school and then, the schools I attended. 

 

My first experience of a school was when I went to pre-kindergarten, when I was four years old.  It was a private school, originally founded as a Christian (Anglican) school, but which later admitted students of other faiths, as well.  I don’t remember a lot about it – it was in a big house like building with the lawn adjoining a man-made lake.  My teacher, Miss Monica, whom I adored, was English; there is a photograph of me standing next to her, in my childhood album.  I was joined there by my cousin who is 4 months younger to me; I think I must have started attending the pre-school first, because I remember bossing my cousin around and telling her what to do and how things were to be done at school!  I remember us sitting together and coloring at a table.  I also remember there were two other girls who might have been a bit older and who might have been trying to make friends with me – they were always asking me which one I liked better and I found that to be most annoying!  And then, one day, Miss Monica got married (and apparently I was invited to the wedding, along with my mother), but somehow, her getting married made me not want to go to that school anymore!  I remember crying and refusing to go back!  I don’t know if Miss Monica left the school after she got married or if she continued to teach there.  But somehow, her getting married changed her forever in my 4-year-old mind.  My mother withdrew me from the school and entered me into a different pre-school – this time, it was a public school and the one associated with the public Buddhist school I would attend from kindergarten until I graduated.  Eventually, my cousin must have joined me, because I remember we were both in the same kindergarten class at the main school, afterwards.

 

I don’t remember much about the pre-kindergarten (known as nursery school at the time) at the second school.  But I remember the kindergarten class and my teacher, Miss F (who also got married, and again, I was invited; it might have been after I had already promoted from her class, though, because I remember attending her wedding.)  We recited nursery rhymes in kindergarten, and learned the Sinhala alphabet (54 letters + diacritics).

 

I don’t remember learning any English poems in 1^st and 2^nd grades.  But, in 3^rd or 4^th grade, I learned “Mr. Tom Narrow” by James Reeves.  “A scandalous man was Mr. Tom Narrow", for he pushed his grandmother around the town in a wheelbarrow, and tried to sell her!  “Grannies to sell!  Old Grannies to sell!”  But no one would buy his Granny as the neighbors thought she'd be of little use and a poor bargain as well;  so he sent her back to bed and sold his wheelbarrow, instead, for half a crown!  LOL.  I loved this poem.  Later, I forgot some of the words and one of my cousins, who teaches elocution and uses this poem among others, wrote it out for me.

 

In every grade, we had to memorize our poems and recite them.  One year, it was “Lochinvar” by Sir Walter Scot.  And “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes.  I loved learning and reciting poems and I read many more at home, too, other than what was taught in school.  Eventually, I would try my hand at writing poetry!  I still have two books of poems I wrote as a teenager, in a box in the garage! 

 

Today, I woke up feeling more energetic than yesterday.  As a result, I went to the office and had a rather productive day.  On the way home, I stopped to put gas to the car (and this time, I did not go to get a hamburger!).  By the time I came home, however, I was starting to feel tired.  So, I spent a relaxed evening.  I called my neighbor T who had called and left a message.  Then, I called my neighbor S to tell her that the fish she brought over on Sunday, which her mother had made, was delicious.  I also received a phone call from one of my cousins in Sri Lanka, the one who wrote out the Mr. Tom Narrow poem for me; I reminded her of it and she laughed.  She is now teaching adults and uses different poems. 

Today, for breakfast, I ate the last piece of the beef steak, shredded and made into a wrap with a piece of the lavash flat bread, along with a banana.  Lunch was macaroni and cheese, with the half a pear leftover from yesterday.  Dinner was the second piece of fish my neighbor S had brought for me, with the leftover half of the baked potato and some broccoli:

Tuesday Dinner

Followed by an orange for dessert.  I eat plenty of fruit, but struggle to eat enough vegetables!

Today, I am grateful for:

- Feeling better 

- My veggie seeds are sprouting!

- Memories of poems and school days

- Safe commutes to the office and back

- No ill effects from the medications

 

Tuesday (and Beyond) To Do List:
- Go to the office - DONE
- Call the oncologist's office - DONE
- Put gas to the car - DONE
- Bring the trash cans in - DONE

- Water the seedlings - DONE
- Put away laundry
- Continue to tidy
- Dust
- Vacuum
- Paperwork/filing
- Plant the new succulents

Wednesday's To Do List:

- Go to the office
- Call for a car service appointment
- Go to the bank
- Water the seedlings
- Plus the remaining items from Tuesday's list!

How was your Tuesday?  Did you have to learn poems when you went to school?  Do you still remember some of them?  What do you remember about your early school days?