“Sing at the table. Sing in the bed. The boogerman‘ll get you by the hair of the head.”
When I was a small child, I was spending the night with my cousin Sue when an incredible thunderstorm passed through. I welcomed storms, invigorated by the rumble of thunder, the splendor of lightning, and the smell of ozone. Recalling her childhood fear of storms, Mother had always downplayed the noise and drama of storms. We were supposed to be settling into sleep but I was wildly excited by the storm and enlisted my cousins to join me in bed jumping. Aunt Julie was terrified of storms and made no effort to hide her agitation at the combination of the fearsome storm and the banshee bed-jumpers. She did not share Mother’s tender philosophy.
“You little devils shut up and lay down. All that racket is making the the lightning worse. It’s gonna strike you if you don’t settle down and shut up.” One of the little devils got up and jumped on the bed again before the threat left her lips. A mighty crash of thunder rattled the windows promising to come for the miscreant. Kids dived under covers and hid in closets. “See what I told you. If the lightning don’t fit you, the boogerman will!”
I stayed put, even though Mother had often told me there was no boogerman. Aunt Julie looked scary enough on her own to do the trick. Since then, I’ve often wondered why Mother never availed herself of the Boogerman. It seems like she overlooked a valuable child-rearing resource.
Sing at the table…..
“Sing at the table. Sing in the bed. The boogerman‘ll get you by the hair of the head.”
When I was a small child, I was spending the night with my cousin Sue when an incredible thunderstorm passed through. I welcomed storms, invigorated by the rumble of thunder, the splendor of lightning, and the smell of ozone. Recalling her childhood fear of storms, Mother had always downplayed the noise and drama of storms. We were supposed to be settling into sleep but I was wildly excited by the storm and enlisted my cousins to join me in bed jumping. Aunt Julie was terrified of storms and made no effort to hide her agitation at the combination of the fearsome storm and the banshee bed-jumpers. She did not share Mother’s tender philosophy.
“You little devils shut up and lay down. All that racket is making the the lightning worse. It’s gonna strike you if you don’t settle down and shut up.” One of the little devils got up and jumped on the bed again before the threat left her lips. A mighty crash of thunder rattled the windows promising to come for the miscreant. Kids dived under covers and hid in closets. “See what I told you. If the lightning don’t fit you, the boogerman will!”
I stayed put, even though Mother had often told me there was no boogerman. Aunt Julie looked scary enough on her own to do the trick. Since then, I’ve often wondered why Mother never availed herself of the Boogerman. It seems like she overlooked a valuable child-rearing resource.
Nutsrok 
It seems like she overlooked a valuable child-rearing resource. Uh-hun….You’re so silly. ;>)
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I don’t know what she was thinking.
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The boogerman. Your Mother was wise not to use him to control you.
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Actually, Aunt Julie looked a lot like the Boogerwoman.
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I’m glad she didn’t.
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Because she is a very wise mother! :)
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She still is.
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I love thunderstorms. Watching the lightning light up the night sky is awesome. Sounds like your mum had a handle on all you kids without have to resort to the bogeyman too much :)
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She outsmarted us a lot.
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:)
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The boogerman existed in my childhood too, but we called him The Boogey Man. Maybe yours was a giant booger with legs and arms? That would be pretty scary. I also remember an episode of The Little Rascals where the kids were scared of the Boogeyman–he was an old man that pulled out one whisker at a time and howled. Did you see that episode?
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I need to look that up!
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If you love The Little Rascals (as I do), you’ll like this episode. It’s eery.
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They were the light of my childhood.
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I could never get why the Boogeyman objected to singing at the table. I was always being told not to do it, also not to read at the table, and I could never understand why.
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I forgot about reading!
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The impressions we get in childhood last us with us!
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Just like yesterday!
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Maybe she wanted you to be able to jump on the bed instead of hiding under it.
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After all, it was Aunt Julie’s bed.
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This was a rich one, Linda. You outdo yourself at every turn.
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Why thank you.
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Ha. Thank your lucky stars she didn’t follow the lead of Aunt Julie!!!
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She is such a good Mother.
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