Tuesday, March 30, 2010

How do you remember that?!?

I know people who remember precise details from their childhoods...everything from the exciting memories to the mundane ones. Happy events and those not so happy ones. They remember what they wore on their first day of school. The names of every single family pet ever owned. I am not one of those people.

Oh, I can recall a few happy gems, but it's alarming the number of things that seem to have slipped away forever. Every once in a while I'll hear a sound, see an object, or catch the scent of something that takes me back. Or my mind tries to take me back. I get that warm feeling of nostalgia but I often can't quite put my finger on the exact memory my senses are trying to conjure up. I know instinctively that it's a pleasant memory...but the memory itself is just out of my mind's reach. Grrrrrrr

I do remember what I wore to school on that first day....but only because my mom has it saved in photographic history. I also remember the painfully large splinter Dr. Daughtery had to remove from my foot, but I'm sure that's because my mom still has the offending piece of wood wrapped in gauze so I've seen it regularly over the years. I can recall warmly our family's vacations and trips to our cabin...well at least I remember that we did it often and I remember most of the locations, the details are kinda sketchy.

Don't get me wrong. There are bright lights of recollection that occur and memories that are vivid and real. And I cherish them. Playing baseball, tag, hide & seek, and wading in the creek with my brother and cousins. Car rides, walks, and watching "Lost in Space" with mom and dad. Playing hot/cold and catching crawdads with my Pappaw and eating sliced fresh tomatoes topped with sugar with my Mammaw. Going to Rinks and Shanks and the Ark. School shopping at Kmart. (Yes, Kmart!!!) And watching the "XXXXX million hamburgers sold" sign number increase at the McDonalds on Rt 4 in Hamilton.

I guess, come to think of it, I actually do have a better recollection of my childhood than I thought. More details emerge the longer I think about it. Faces, places, events...and yes, even the name of my Pappaw's dog. Roscoe. Cool!!! And also, I remember quite clearly how incredibly cold the outhouse toilet seat was in the winter time. I think I remember that TOO well. Brrrrrrrrrrr.

Perhaps, there's hope for my memory yet.

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