Thumbsucker

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I sucked my thumb until I was eight years old. If memory serves, and you know what we say here at TMP: Memory serves, but it’s usually self-serving. Still, who would make that up? I chose to give up thumb-sucking the summer between second and third grade because I had the good fortune to have the same wonderful teacher, Lorraine Shapiro, for the second time and I cared deeply about her opinion of me. Not that she knew I sucked my thumb. By then, I sucked it only at night. Still, I knew it was time to stop.

My thumb was known in our household as Golly, or Golly-Golly, a name derived from the sound I made while sucking. Later, when I acquired a cat, I named her for my thumb, but insisted on spelling it Gali, which led to a lifetime of misunderstandings. And I do mean a lifetime: The cat lived to age 20, spending her twilight years with my parents.

In the newspaper world, “thumbsucker” is the name used for a piece that doesn’t really advance news, just allows a reporter to assemble known facts, often under the claim of “analysis.” I’m not sure why that was the case. “Chin-stroking” or, to be rude, “jerk-off” seem more analogous to me, but maybe I’m missing something. Thumb-sucking is all about self-soothing and very private. (Well, I guess jerking off is, too. Or should be, but there was that man I saw on the Evanston Express, circa 1979.)

Of course, everyone worried I would need braces. I didn’t. I have an overbite, but maybe I would have, anyway.

Did you have a bad habit that you broke for someone else? Did you have a blanket or a beloved toy that you carried far later than others thought you should?

By the way, out of curiosity, I sneaked my thumb into my mouth last night. It held no appeal. I’d much rather have a glass of wine, thank you very much.

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36 thoughts on “Thumbsucker”

  1. I can’t remember my comfort object, but my son (now 17) used triple-sized cotton balls, which he called zsa-zsas (as in Gabor). When he was 8 or 9 months old he used to watch me powder my face, and loved the feeling of the silky powder puff, and he would refuse to relinquish it. He would clutch it for a couple of hours and then let it go, usually in the street. After losing three or four powder puffs, I started using cotton balls instead, and he latched on to those, too. They were great comfort objects–discreet, disposable, infinitely replaceable. He was never without one. Even up to the age of nine or ten he would stick one behind his ear while he played video games. Sometimes, even now, I’ll find an old blackened one in the laundry room, and I’m never sure just how old it really is…

  2. my mother claims that i never wet the bed or sucked my thumb, though i think this is not as a credit to me,but to her parenting skills. regardless, i did have an imaginary friend (“billy”–perhaps he sucked his imaginary thumb?)and told rather fanciful stories, neither of which was discouraged and the latter has peristed.

    my brother sucked his thumb as a combo burrito with a blanket sucking action. he had a quilt made by some long dead relative which started out the size of a queen bed and, as a result of constant trimming of the (fetid) corners, i think ended up the size of a circular napkin. we were all exceedingly grateful when he gave up both, though i do find that all these years later,i still look at his thumb for signs of a callous.

  3. it would be interesting to know the birth order of the folks that sucked their thumbs. do oldest children suck thumbs more than junior children, due to years alone? or do younger children suck more, so to speak, due their ‘baby’ status? my brother was the baby; i was eldest.

  4. Early photographs of me (up to the age of four) show me with a blue plastic bottle, known as “Bot.” I don’t know whether I remember Bot, or have just imagined Bot from being told about it so often. It had a black ring that held the rubber nipple, and I carried it with me constantly, often letting it dangle from my mouth as I used my hands to do other things.

    When I was four, my pediatrician explained to me that Bot had given me impetigo, making my chin raw and red. He told me that bottles were good for babies, but that it was time for me to give it up so I could be a big girl. I threw the bottle into the trash can in his office, and according to family legend, never showed any sign of missing it.

    Many years later I went to a French restaurant that served wine in baby bottles, but something about drinking wine through a rubber nipple made my skin crawl, and I didn’t do it.

  5. I had a blankie. Several identical blankies, actually.

    I also used to suck my middle and index fingers until, one afternoon, I figured it would be a good idea to play with the stapler. One week and several band-aids later I’d switched to my thumb.

    Oddly, I don’t have an overbite, but my left thumb is a good centimeter shorter than the right one…

  6. I sucked my thumb and had a blankie. I don’t remember how old I was when I gave up the thumb-sucking, but I slept with my old blankie under my pillow probably through middle school. Then I relegated it to a bureau drawer where it has stayed ever since! Wasn’t Mrs. Shapiro the most wonderful teacher? And to think that she wanted to be with us for a second year! Fourth grade was memorable, too, with Mrs. Koger and Mrs. Geyer. I have many fond memories of Dickey Hill Elementary School.

  7. I remember laying in bed shaking my head back and forth real fast every night before I went to sleep-and I had to have a cover-didn’t matter how hot it was-I had to be covered up to my ears! Don’t know about much else since I was in foster homes-didn’t have much else.

  9. My daughter at age 5 couldn’t go to sleep at night — kept coming to us in the living room “I can’t sleep. I’m afraid a burglar will come.” No matter what we said, that was her biggest fear.
    One day we got a 7-week-old puppy. That night, I got a brainstorm and told her, “Burglars won’t come here. The pup will bark and everyone will be afraid to come up the stairs.” From that night forward — daughter slept peacefully, never wondering why a burglar would be afraid of a 7-WEEK-old pup.

  10. Well, I cannot recall being a blankie-man or a sucker of things, and all I’ll say about jerking off is that that would have been a matter of ultra-secrecy, and certainly not something for the Evanston Express! (as an old dad, now, I wonder how “secret” that whole business ever really is or can be, but we digress!)

    But one thing that this sucky post reminded me of is a mindless habit I’ve had since who-knows-when, and which I only took notice of in the last year.

    I’m a big big fan of icy-cold Diet Coke; love the stuff, and I surely drink too much of it – usually from a cup with a straw. But here’s the thing: whenever I’d refill the cup (the better to have lots of ice in there) from a can, the last thing I’d do is place the emptied can up to my mouth and slurp the last bit from the edge(!)

    For whatever reason, it suddenly struck me that this is a ridiculous thing to do – and it makes an annoying noise. But the revelation was – when I conciously STOPPED doing that, I had an almost overpowering sense that I was “missing out” on something. But three drops worth of Diet Coke ain’t much…it was the act itself that was somehow satisfying.

    Anyway – that’s what immediately came to mind, as I read this. (now if you’ll excuse me, I’m a bit thirsty…)

  11. Two months ago, I promised more posting in this space and a chance to win free books. Then my life, as Robert Burns once wrote, aft agley. Sorry about that. But here’s an easy way to win a free book from me: Be the first one to post this message in the comments section of the current thread, Thumbsucker, at The Memory Project: “I like free books.” And stay tuned for more freebies — more copies of I’D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE, an entire set of gently owned Lippman first editions and even a visit to your favorite library or independent bookstore. That is, I’d visit, but it wouldn’t cost the library, store or my publisher a single cent. http://www.lauralippman.com/

  20. And now I am sad that my idea for a book contest sucked eggs. And that I didn’t post “I like free books” when I would have been only 2nd in line, because only the first person was going to win. Feste must go find a dark corner and cry as all good fools do.

  23. You know, I think most of us will snap up LL’s books in any case, so that the thought of someone other than me getting a free one is pleasant enough that I can act almost genuinely indifferent.

    BUT – the idea of winning a visit from Ms Lippman to the Allen County Public Library here in Fort Wayne, Indiana (a genuinely lovely facility, by the way)…THAT turns my head and quickens my heart!

    I hope the contest for that gives us all (and especially me!) (if that makes any sense) an even chance at the win!

  24. I love Free Books, and I received a copy of I’d Know You, Anywhere. I’m still in the middle of it. I found it helpful knowing Laura and having confidence in her as to what kind of book she would write. I’m put off by women in jeopardy and especially girls in jeopardy books. I was about a sixth of the way through the book, still a bit worried and peaked at the end to see that my confidence was justified. I found the piece on your website reassuring. I didn’t pick up that reassurance from the ARC. My advise to others is to have confidence..

  26. “You know what? There’s no law saying that I can’t send Brian, Diane and Michelle all books, just for being game.”

    Sounds like a grand plan to me! :)

  27. There is DEFINITELY going to be a chance to win a visit to your local library and it won’t involve being first off the mark. Stay tuned.

    Thanks, Don, for that endorsement. It means a lot to me. Yes, this is a book about a woman who has endured something horrible, but she is strong in her own quiet way.

  28. I’ve finished reading I’ll know You Anywhere. My confidence in Laura is fulfilled. It’s about a woman transforming herself. It’s a book about a woman, who’s gone through a horrible situation’s strength. Definitely not about a girl in jeopardy. I thought it wasn’t clear, early in the book, from the writing, where it was going to go, though.

    I wonder if those who might like the book, the most might be the most put off by the beginning. I think some reassurance would help. That could be in the flap copy, which isn’t in the ARC. I know that there are some readers, who refuse to read the flap copy till after they’ve read the book, because it’s not the work of the author and can contain things that spoil the book.

    I’m reminded by a couple of other excellent books, that could have been kids in jeopardy books, but never went there. One was by Kate Flora. It’s a book about a mother who’s child is kidnapped and her transformation to rise to the occasion and save her child, when the Police and her family were urging them to leave it to the police. Another by John Morgan Wilson, which involves Justice saving a boy, who’d been abducted by a pederasty ring. The child was in a horrible spot. But, Wilson, never used the horrible situation of the child to build tension.

    I think it’s often a cheep shot to put a woman or child in jeopardy and I don’t like it. I think it’s a sign of a good writer to be able to build and release the tension without doing that. even though some books that do, can be pretty popular. IKY,A is another great example of an author doing that.

    I thought the penultimate and final paragraphs were especially satisfying, wrapping it all up. I think there are a lot more outstanding first lines and paragraphs than last ones. It’s a matter of craft and where the authors energy is placed. Great last lines might make a good memory project exercise. This one makes my list.

  29. Iwas never allowed to suck my thumb!! I had a cousin who sucked her thumb and it looked really delicious so I tried it YUCK!! But every time I did try my father came by and made me take my thumb out. To this day, I thank him for that!!!

    I love free books.
    I know that I am too late to receive my free book. I do look forward to reading all about the stories around Baltimore. I am a native born Baltimoron. I now live right outside of DC, but still call Baltimore my home. You can take me out of Baltimore but you can’t take Baltimore out of me.

  30. Nail biting was (sometimes still is) my childhood habit. Despite much effort by my parents and lots of talk about germs, I was never really inspired or scared enough to give it up.
    Even though it’s way late, I like free books as well. My library book club is reading What the Dead Know this month. There should be plenty to discuss. Thanks

  34. “I like free books.” Would love to get a freebie but I will buy it anyway since I am about 2 weeks late!

    I have loved all of Laura’s books (read all but one, I think) and am thrilled that there is another new one out! Please, Laura, come back to Carmel, IN and share some more of your wisdom and wit at our public library. I have told dozens of people that WHAT THE DEAD KNOW is one of the best books I have EVER read; I can’t wait to get hold of this new one to see if you have somehow exceeded the high standard you set with that earlier one! You never fail to impress your fans with complex plots and fully developed characters, all unwound for us, bit by bit, throughout your 100,000 words. Thanks for continuing to entertain us and make us think.

  35. I have a terrible habit – nail biting – that I have been doing for as long as I can remember. But, before I got married, my fiance stated that we would not marry unless I stopped. Lo and behold – the day of the wedding, I walked down the aisle with beautiful nails. But, I should have recognized the ominous warning – for during the honeymoon, the habit reappeared and the nails disappeared. So did the husband five years later!

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