Religious Upbringing

With my parents in town for Krys's graduation (which was extremely fantastic for them to coordinate for) I had a conversation on the back porch with my dad. He was concerned about my sister becoming ultra-religious and rearing two children.

I told him, "Don't worry. I turned out fine."

To which he replied, "We weren't that bad."

So I recalled my childhood experiences as I saw them. We went to church two or three times a week, at least Wednesday and Sunday. My summers were spent with my grandparents who were custodians for a church, so I was there. Every summer included Vacation Bible School for a few weeks. They spent a few years as leaders of the church youth group so I always got dragged along. They held Bible studies at home. Sunday evenings we played Christian board games or Christian card games. They bought me Christian children's book with read-along tapes. We always said grace before dinner and on the weekends we said grace at lunch as well. They would have me say my prayers before bed.

"Dad, when I tell people how I was brought up, they think I lived with the Flanders!"

I have to admit it felt nice to finally get it out in the open. I think they forgot just how religious they were while raising me. It affected me.

Yet I can still say compared to most people I know, I had an idyllic childhood. Socially fucked, but quite stable and nice. They tempered all of that religious zealotry with just as much emphasis on the pursuit of knowledge. That and good old fashioned eat-what-you-kill pragmatism.

Except cats.