I'm sure everyone has their favorite memories from when they were a child. I was laying in bed the other night, remembering some of my own, and came up with the idea of tracking the bad (or not-so-good) memories, as well as the good memories. This is what I have so far:
Good memory:
Playing in the silky soft dirt of our yard, building roads and towns and cities for our toy cars and pretend people.
Not-so-good memory:
Not being able to sleep in my bed after watching the black and white movie "Little Shop of Horrors" on t.v. I slept in the bathroom because my dad had planted sunflowers outside our bedroom window, and they bore a unpleasant similarity to the blooms on the man-eating plant in the movie.
Good memory:
My dad waking me up while I was sleeping on the toilet, and explaining the difference between movies (not real) and (real)life.
Not-so-good memory:
Hitting a parked car while riding my brothers bike. (I didn't know he had disabled the brakes.) I flew over the handle bars, bouncing off the car, and landing in the street. I sprained my wrist very badly, and ended up with a major case of road rash all down the one side of my body.
Even-worse memory:
Getting my mouth washed out with soap a few days later when the neighborhood bully twisted the same wrist, and I screamed some swear words I didn't even know I knew from the pain.
Good memory:
Pretending to be wild ponies with my best friends, and galloping all over the neighborhood. I wonder now what the adults thought of our strange behavior. No one ever said anything to us, so maybe we weren't as weird as I think we were.
Not-so-good memory:
Having my sister stab me in the eye with a butcher knife when I was in the third grade. No, it really was an accident. Seriously.
Good memory:
The weekly parties at the local roller-skating rink. I couldn't ice skate, I couldn't do fancy foot tricks but I loved zooming around that rink on wheels. I felt almost like I could fly! And if you've never done the Hokey-Pokey on roller skates, man, you just haven't lived!
Not-so-good memory:
Waking late in the evening of December 25th, standing next to the festively decorated Christmas tree, and watching with tears in my eyes as my best friends house burned to the ground. There were no survivors, a family of five lost forever. I've never forgotten you, Cathy, you'll always live in my memories.
Good memory:
The annual family trip to Presque Isle State Park. We spent the whole day at the beach, cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner on the grill, swimming, building sand castles, and just having fun as a family.
Not-so-good memory:
Dreading the daily walk to the bus stop in elementary school. The kids would tease me, calling me "Little Orphan Annie" when my mother would set my hair in rag-curls. Or because I wore hand-me-down clothes.
Good memory:
Playing dolls with my sister. We each had our favorite baby that went everywhere we went. They were kewpie style dolls if my memory is correct. I can't remember what the name of my baby was, but I remember how dearly I loved her.
Not-so-good memory:
Getting bit by a fire ant while staying at my grandfathers house. Oh the burning pain! It bit me right in the underarm area, and it seemed like nothing my parents or grandparents did gave me any relief from the blazing agony of that bite. I couldn't put my arm down for days.
Good memory:
Visiting my grandma. Picking blueberries with her every summer. Picking wild strawberries with her every spring. Just being with her, spending time with her, it's all good with my beloved grandma.
Not-so-good memory:
Getting my head slammed in the trunk of the car by my sister. Three times, right in a row. No, she's not psychotic, really. It was an ACCIDENT. She just couldn't get the trunk to close, and 'didn't know why it wouldn't close'. Seriously.
So, what about you? What are your favorite good and not-so-good memories from your childhood? I'd love to hear them if you'd care to share.
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