A Memory for Sepia Saturday

I love reading all the nostalgia on the Sepia Saturday posts so here is one of my own.

I vividly remember the day I turned five years old.

 It was three days before Christmas and my mother took me shopping on the bus to the nearest town, seven miles away.
I always thought it such a long way. Three buses ran every day accept Sunday. It took half an hour to get there. Having a birthday so close to Christmas meant it was lost in all the other preparations, but mother brought me a shop cake to share with the family that day. I felt so grown up and proud.

The new year of school begins in late January in Australia, following 6 weeks of Christmas holidays over the summer.  The photo above is of the school I attended.
It was only a two room two teacher school with approximately twenty students ranging in age from five to twelve years.
The building in the foreground of timber floors and walls with tin roof was all there was then.
It was raining the day I enrolled and kept up a steady downfall until the school yard was a flowing muddy mess from the deluge.
All the kindergarten children remained on the veranda talking shyly together as our mothers completed our registrations.
One of the boys, by the name of Peter, sidled up to me and whispered,
"It's the end of the world you know, we'll never see our home again." 
Of course I believed him, and began to cry, I felt so terrified.
My older sister came out with her class for recess and seeing my distress came to find out why?  
She hugged me listening patiently between the tears.
Gently she reminded me of Noah and the Ark and Gods promise of the rainbow to show He would never flood the earth again.
That Peter stood back smiling and as the years passed I realised what a tormentor that naughty child was.
Because it was a country school we wore no uniform and very few children wore shoes to school. They were kept for special times like Sunday School.

I attended an all Girls High School and am picture here on the left in school uniform. The girl behind me on the right was not in uniform that day?

The one thing I am eternally grateful for is learning about God's love at a very young age.

“I tell you the truth. You must accept the kingdom of God like a little child accepts things, or you will never enter it." (Mark 10:15)