When I was a kid, my chore was to do the dishes. I absolutely abhorred it.
But when my grandmother came to live with us, she enlightened me with her wisdom of life hacks.
One of them was to remove tea stains from everyone's teacups. No matter how hard I scrubbed with a sponge, it always flustered me that I couldn't remove the stubborn stains, and I always had tons of teacups to wash because we are a family of Japanese herbal tea drinkers.
My grandma taught me that using salt to scrub the stains would do the trick. And sure enough, it did.
I was simply blown away, and for some reason, I started to enjoy washing dishes after being enchanted by the salt rubbing trick.
To this day, washing dishes is a calming ritual that connects me to the memory of my beloved Obachan.
Redditor Irregaurdless asked:
"What small thing happened in your childhood, that has effected you for the rest of your life?"
The Feels
The positive memories stay with us forever.
Design Inspiration
"i went to my older sister's friend's dad's house once when i was a preteen or young teen and i really liked it. took me years into living on my own to realize i'm subconsciously mimicking the interior decorating of that place lol"
Crayon Lady
"I'm the oldest of many kids, and that meant that all of my stuff was always getting wrecked by my younger siblings throughout my childhood. For some reason, I imagine just the goodness of her heart, when I was around six we had a neighbor lady who was friendly with my mom (we moved all the time when I was a kid so we didn't always have relationships with our neighbors) and she kept a box of unbroken crayons and some unscribbled-in coloring books at her house for me and would let me come over and just sit at her coffee table and color all by myself sometimes. I was too young to thank her adequately or even realize how unusual the kindness of her gesture was, but it has always stuck with me. I have crystal clear memories of the quiet of her living room and the joy of crayons that nobody had broken or torn the wrapping off of, and the crisp pages of the coloring books that nobody but me ever colored in."
"I still think about her sometimes and hope good things are happening for her. I am always trying to live up to the memory I have of her and pay her kindness forward."
Better Score
"When I was moving states, my history teacher took me aside after class and showed me over to the computer where he showed me all my grades. He was like 'Oh, this is a B? Nah, I think it's an A' and upped like all my grades a little bit, just because. I don't even know how I reacted or what I said, and it's not like my grades were bad, but the sheer kindness shown by him to do that for really no reason, it impacted me. I like to at least try and pass on some of that kindness from day to day."
Encouraging Father
"My Dad telling me 'you can do this, I know you can'. For the life of me I can't recall what I was doing, but the memory of him saying it is clear as can be. I call that memory up when stuff's going sideways. Never underestimate a praise."
How To Cross The Street
"When I was a young child, maybe 5 or 6, living in a fairly urban place, my grandfather taught me how to cross the street. We had a park across the street, so we were often crossing it. He held my hand and reiterated over and over that you always have to look both ways. Even when the street is one way, you never know when some crazy person may come barreling down the road the wrong way. Not looking both ways is a mistake that can ruin (or end) your life."
"I don't remember specifically learning to tie my shoes, or how to cook pasta, or how to brush my teeth - all those things I just know how to do without recalling being taught and those activities don't trigger any specific memories. But I have always remembered crossing the street over and over with my grandfather and the life-or-death nature of the lesson he taught me."
"My grandfather is long since passed away now, but every time I cross a street I think about him."
"And I always look both ways."
Getting Physical
These Redditors share the memories relating to their physical experiences.
Body Image
"When I overheard one piece of a conversation when I was 7 years old. My aunt was talking on the phone to her relative, and I heard her say 'and now I have to babysit this fat 7 year old', I don't remember anything else. That led to disordered eating and me counting calories from age 7 to about age 14. I still have body image issues, though I don't think it can all be contributed to that one event. But it was certainly the first thing that ever caused me to think of my body negatively."
"The gag is... I was nowhere near fat, I couldn't even be described as a little chubby. My aunt has issues with food and her health and body image and projected that onto me. She watched me for a good part of my childhood while my parents worked and I was always so scared to ask for a snack when I was starving. I would get terrible migraines from playing outside in the summer that would be fixed by eating but I always felt so judged for doing so. I remember another thing that stuck with me was once I wanted some pretzels before my mom picked me up and she said 'Jesus, do you want your a** to be as big as the house?!' Like wtf... I was in the 3rd or 4th grade then. Its f*ked up now that I'm remembering it."
– sanoanxa
Locked Knee
"Got my knee hurt while playing on the street (my knee bent the oposite way and came back to place). Came home crying, my mom sent me to buy some stuff to the supermarket, no excuses, yelled at me for supossedly faking it, I went (supermarket was about three blocks away) and was crying in pain on the way back, so much that my friends carried the bags for me when they saw me. I was so afraid that I asked them to give me the bags when we reached the door, gave the bags to my mom and went to my room."
"Years later, senior year of highschool, same knee pops. Spent a week in bed, couldn't do any exercise for 3 months."
"Second year of college, same knee pops. Now it is a week in bed and the entire summer with a full leg brace and crutches."
"Now my knee can get 'locked' if I try to bent it the wrong way."
"To this day she says it never happened. That and other similar stuff."
Bad Aroma
"I tried to give myself superpowers."
"When I was 5 I decided I wanted to be a rowdy rough boy. I mixed all the liquids from the fridge with all the spices from the cabinet. I then grabbed every chemical bottle I could find and poured it all into a bucket. Right before drinking it I decided to smell it first and I inhaled as deep as I could. I passed out almost immediately and fell forward onto the bowl. The noise alerted my father who rushed in to find me passed out. I woke up several hours later unable to smell. Most of my ability to taste is gone as well."
Scars
As much as uplifting memories stay with us forever, so do the negative ones.
Traumatic Ribbit
"Cousin threw a frog at me when we were little and it got stuck in my shirt. Have been terrified of frogs ever since."
– Tay_phay
Not The Favorite Child
"My sister was killed in a car accident. The following day I overheard my dad tell somebody on the telephone 'No, unfortunately it wasn't [my name].'"
"I've slowly been disconnecting myself from them. They have no idea I know."
– c419331
The Day Childhood Died
"One day my father took away my toys."
"I know this sounds basic but I was about 5 or 6 and out of nowhere my father and 6 brothers came into my room with tubs and took away everything I owned. They took my toy box, stuffed animals, the posters off my wall, my barbie blanket and of course any coloring books really anything you can think of. It killed me inside but I thought if I was good and stayed quiet I would eventually get them back. I'm sad to say I never did. That day I think my childhood died and I turned into a shell for the next 10 years of my life."
It's amazing how a small detail from the past can have lingering effects in life.
I was traumatized after watching the movie Jaws. Ever since then, I've been afraid of the water and going to the deep end of pools.
As an adult, my cynism took over my fear of being devoured by a giant shark. But my distaste for the beach remains.
I'll go to the woods any day as long as I don't hear any dueling banjos playing in my vicinity.
Life is full of shock and surprise.
Apparently, that is part of the fun.
Who hasn't been left stunned by life events?
We always think we're immune to way too many things.
Anything and everything is possible.
It's important to be ready.
Redditor Bob_the_peasant wanted to hear about the things that have left people SHOOK, so they asked:
"What 'That can’t happen to me' thing happened to you?'"
I haven't been left that shocked that often.
I'm always expecting the worst, so I'm prepared.
But you never know.
I'm Dead
Snakes Imacelebau GIF by I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! AustraliaGiphy"A snake fell out of a tree and bit me on the head."
"ETA: I have always been more scared of snakes than anyone I know, so it’s just so ironic that this happened to me of all people."
amanitachill
Crash Into Me
"A car crashed through my kitchen last year."
aster636
"I woke up to a truck parking in my bathtub 2 weeks before Christmas a few years ago. I watched my sink roll past my bedroom door followed by a hubcap. The driver managed to cross a median, 3-lane road, up an embankment, through an iron fence and between trees. He'd been involved in an altercation nearby and was fleeing the scene."
anjie59k
Hot Air
Swinging Hot Air Balloon GIF by Red BullGiphy"My family and I were in a hot air balloon crash."
GymDoll2000
"My friend had one crash into her pool when she was a kid."
Environmental-Car481
This is why hot air balloons and skydiving are just a HELL no for me.
Always have. Always will.
Tragic
Cat No GIF by Looney TunesGiphy"My wife cheated on me with my best friend. They’re moving in together next month. I’m in a new city thousands of miles away. I found out a month ago."
Tssodie
Bad Penguin
"Everyone else’s stories are very sad so here’s something a bit lighter. I’ve mentioned this story before but I got bitten on the neck by a penguin."
"I was at an event where the local zoo had a penguin and owl sitting on tables with handlers so you could take a picture next to them. The penguin went for my glass of wine, I moved the wine, and it bit me on the neck hard enough to bruise. They removed the penguin after that. 😂."
archaeologistbarbie
All Gone
"Our house burned in a wildfire, we lost absolutely everything we owned and only salvaged a single coffee 3 cup."
"On the good side: There was a boy I crushed on all through high school. We went to summer camp together and I adored him. We ended up getting together in our 20s after reconnecting, and have now been together more than 20 years, married almost 17. We’re as madly in love as ever."
toomuchisjustenough
Good Luck
"Homelessness. It came swiftly and out of nowhere. had no savings and the landlord sold the house I was in. couldn’t afford a new place so lived in my car with my dog for a few months. ended up finding community assistance and got into an apartment."
jumbospicyslimjim
"I can’t even imagine being in that situation. Hopefully, this is just the start of things turning around for you. Sending you good energy!"
frappbarqueen
Early Michael Myers
"About 10 years ago, I was stabbed in the arm with a flathead screwdriver. It was a coworker whom I had previously gotten along well with. He had stopped taking benzos and smoking weed a few days before and was on a hair trigger. I said something sarcastic, and he just snapped."
Mr_Spaghetti_Hands
Bad Landing
Bad Day Seagull GIF by Sound FXGiphy"I was lying on the beach and a seagull flying very high took a poop and it went straight in my mouth."
Competitive_Show6205
This is why I say... "Never trust a seagull!"
They are minions of the devil.
