When I was 5 yo my dad passed away. My mom and I had to move in with her mother because my mom couldn’t afford rent or a babysitter.
My grandmother had moved to the U.S. during WWII when she was very young, but she was still very English. Even though I was only 5 she expected me to be a proper young lady. Stand up straight. Don’t push your hair behind your ears. Don’t cut your hair short. No elbows on the table. My grandmother hated that I was a “tomboy”. I was forced to go to church/ Sunday school and parade around in white stockings and fluffy dresses and to never get them dirty. The body policing continued until she died when I was 7. Thankfully my mom let me decide if I wanted to be baptized…which I did not.