I wish I'd known then....

[Alisande]

.....what I know now.

When my first child was two, we were talking about something--I forget what--when she casually mentioned "when I was a man, before the fire."

I really wish I'd pursued the subject, but I was rather stunned into silence. I also wish I'd thought to somehow encourage my second daughter to talk about past lives. She was clearly an "old soul" from the start, full of wisdom and magic.

My son spoke his own language before he got into English. We assumed it was something he'd made up--as it may well have been--but it was so complex for a toddler, and he repeated many of the words so often that we came to remember them. Later, on several occasions he read my mind. It was remarkable. Again, I wish I'd thought to delve into all this a bit.

Thanks for listening. Nice board!

Alisande

 

[bishopk]

This happened to me, too, Alisande - I feel like I also missed an opportunity to explore a possible past-life memory of my now 7-year-old daughter when she was 3 1/2. We were given a double bed for her then and shortly after it was placed in her bedroom, I noticed that she began playing a game in which she was taking her stuffed toys to the "common"; the bed was the common. And as time went on, when she played this game her voice seemed to change - she began speaking with a clipped, rather British-sounding accent. To me, it seemed as if her usage of the word "common" was as if she was referring to a public gathering place - not a very common (pun intended) way for a 3 1/2 year-old to use that word!

Alas, this was before I'd ever read Childrens' Past Lives, so I didn't know how to get more information from her. The playacting didn't last very long - maybe a month or two at the most. Yet, just a week or so ago, I heard her pronounce a word in that same accented way! It really is noticeable, compared to her usual voice. Made me wonder who she was before.... and where!

 

[cecily]

Another meaning of "common" might be the common grazing ground normally found in or near an English village before the enclosure acts of the 16th c. and later put a stop to it. Some villages retained this feature, however. The term was transplanted to New England. It's the origin of Boston Common, originally a common grazing ground for the settlers.

From your description, she may have been playing at taking animals to graze on the common.

This is most interesting. I don't think even a child living in an English village which still has a common in the present day would be likely to know about taking animals to the common in the past.

Cecily

 

[bishopk]

Thanks for the info, Cecily! I had no idea that "the common" was a public grazing place; I'd thought that commons were public gathering places. Needless to say, it intrigued me that you speculated that my daughter's playacting may refer to an even earlier past life than I'd suspected! Too bad I never got any names or dates from her....

 

[cecily]

You're most welcome. It's possible that she was remembering a life as late as the 18th c., depending on where and when. I don't know at what point Boston Common ceased to include a public grazing area, but I suppose it wouldn't be hard to find out.

The clipped accent you mentioned could be older New England as well as U.K.

Cecily

 

[bishopk]

Cecily, someone else had suggested the possibility of the Boston Common, and she said that the type of accent I described is, indeed, spoken in parts of Boston. Again, something I didn't know - I've always heard of the "pahk the cah in Hahvahd yahd" sort of thing. My daughter's accent was different than that.

I've been wanting to visit Boston for years - ever since I received a brochure from Boston College when I was determining where to go to college. Something about the brochure stood out and I wanted to go to that school. Couldn't afford it though and ended up going instate instead. Given my daughter's playacting, and the thought about Boston College, I wonder now if these are some sort of past-life tip-offs? I mean, I was a good enough student to get quite a few brochures, so why the urge to go to Boston? Guess I WILL have to go there sometime and maybe I'll find out!

 

[Gemeni]

Hello Bishopk.
I thought you might be interested in looking at some details about common land and grazing, which we still have going on around the U.K.
The link is to details about Bodmin Moor in Cornwall - very wild and beautiful - where I used to work on a riding centre and farm. We used to take the cattle and sheep out onto the moor for grazing.
Maybe some of the beautiful pictures will bring back some memories for your daughter?
I live in Kent now but we still have common land in the villages here too.
Sometimes travellers stop off with horses and take grazing rights for their horses.
Enjoy the lovely pictures. http://www.bodminmoor.co.uk/commons.html

 

[bishopk]

Gemeni, thanks so much for adding that link! It was interesting to read of the history of common lands. Like I'd said, I'd had no idea that "the common" was for grazing animals; I'd thought it was a public gathering place for people. I defintely will show this link to my daughter!

 

[Galadriel]

Alisande
What words do you remember. It would be interesting to see if anyone here might recognise the language. From my understanding we have people in this forum from many different countries and heritages.

------------------
If all the World's a stage, and we are merely players. Who wrote the blasted script???

 

[Alisande]

I'll have to ask my daughter, who might remember more. Unfortunately, and sadly, the daughter who would have remembered the most died last year.

All I remember is--I'll write it phonetically--"gallica-pooka woodgy woodgy."

There's no mention of the language in his baby book--shame on me--I guess that's what often happens with the third child.

Thanks,

Alisande

 

[Rod]

This is an interesting case. I would agree that the use of the term "common" as a gathering place is rather uncommon in "The States" these days, thus rendering it significant.

The English language in much of America has strayed from the British pronounciations. This has been a gradual process which has happened least in New England and some isolated coastal places. In New England or Merry Old England many towns have "commons," not just Boston.

I would also not read too much into the fact that stuffed animals were brought to the "common." Children often personify their fuzzy friends and involve them in imaginary human activities and interactions. Unless the animals play behaviour was specifically observed to be non-human (such as cows that only "moo" and don't talk) or a grazing-type activity was noted, it would seem equally likely that a human gathering place was being depicted.

Do you remember what word was recently pronounced in an unuaual manner? Are then any instances, other than that lovely little gathering place at Bed Common, of her using words or phrases that seem unusual in your region?

...Rod

 

[bishopk]

Thanks for your comments, Rod. I'd have to agree that I don't really know if she was referring to people or animals. It was just her use of the word "common" and her accent that was so striking to me.

Now, this might be grasping at straws, but when I discussed the "common" playacting with her recently she reminded me that after awhile she used to pretend that her bedroom rocking chair was an airplane and she'd call that "the common" too. The airplane connection might have been that the rocking chair cushions' color and pattern resembled that of airplane seat upsholstery, or perhaps the movement of a rocking chair going up and down. We'd spent a lot of time flying that previous year, and like most passengers at some point, had commented on the "cattle call" aspect of boarding planes, particularily Southwest Airlines. I can remember using the phrase "cattle call" as we watched passengers board a Southwest Airlines plane. So I wonder if there was a connection to planes, the phrase "cattle call" and cattle in the "common"? But like I said, this could be grasping at straws!

Unfortunately, I don't remember which word she pronounced differently the other day, but it took me aback that she'd said it that way. I do remember thinking that it was the same way she'd talked before at that earlier stage in her life.