From 8-year old Hilda’s diary:
I am not going to dancing school today because Alma is taking me to a party at her church. That is, the party isn’t in the church, it is in the room underneath it but there will be lots of children there and they are serving ice cream. The children will dance and sing too.
Note on a day with few words from Hilda: When I began reading her diary, I wondered whether an adult (Hilda or someone else) had edited the entries — she often seemed more clever and worldly than I could imagine or remember a child being. I have few memories from that age. A few readers wrote me similar comments.
As the year began, I happened to read two novels which were told in the voice of or from the point of view of 9-year olds – Miriam Toews’ Fight Night and Richard Powers Bewilderment. I recalled the books of author Marissa Moss, whose Amelia’s Notebook series begins when the “author” is in 5th grade. My grandmother’s memoirs paint a portrait of herself as a precocious, articulate, sometimes infuriating child. A few of her letters tell stories showing her children in a similar light. Then I recalled being a summer camp counselor for 9 or 10 year old girls when I was a teenager. All of these children — whether fictional or real — were smart, funny, articulate, curious, and at the same time naive and innocent.
Having read these books and stories, and remembered those actual girls, I realize I did Hilda a disservice in doubting the truth of her words. She was an intelligent, clever, and emotional child living in a house full of adults, most of whom did not encourage her to play, pretend, or tell stories. Her diary was the only safe place for her thoughts and feelings.