Earliest Memories

From time to time, I find myself remembering the most random things from my childhood. Things I had forgotten about or hadn’t thought about in forever. So I want to start recording them so they do not slip away again. These are no in particular order. Just as they come to me. I will add to this list as I remember over time.

Ooooo time for a list!

• I remember being super little and The Beatles were my imaginary friends in the backyard of my grandparent’s house. I also had an imaginary friend named Amy.
• My neighbor, Erica, and I would put a blanket over the fence separating our yards and play puppets. I would love to bring out my Miss Piggy puppet.
• I remember Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) was my favorite Ghostbuster so I took a piece of cardboard and drew him on it and cut it out. He was about 3 feet tall.
• I remember the time I was afraid of having eye drops put in my eyes. So they used my Miss Piggy puppet to show me that it was okay.
• There was a time I had an extremely loose tooth. I refused to let them pull it but they were afraid I was going to choke on it. So my grandfather was hovering over me to keep me still to get the tooth out. I was shaking my head back and forth and next thing we knew, the tooth was gone. We could not find it! As they were cleaning up my mouth, my mother walked up to me and said, “Here it is!” She pulled the tooth out of my ear where it had landed. ::face palm::
• My grandparents had 2 gray toy French Poodles. Chauncey and Babette. (Babette was Chauncey’s mom.) Now, they tell me that when I came home from the hospital after I was born, Chauncey was jealous and hated me. Over the years he tried to pretend like he didn’t like me but he actually did. Anytime there was a thunderstorm, who’s lap do you think he wanted to lay on for comfort? Yep, mine.
• I remember the time my great-grandmother told me to come and eat lunch. I was really young and I was playing with her jewelry box and did not want to go eat. She kept trying and I wouldn’t go. So she told me, “You are gonna feel bad about this when I’m dead.” (Don’t get your panties in a wad, my Granny was very funny and loved pranks, etc. So she was saying it with humor in her voice.)
• I remember when she died. She had a heart attack and died a while later from it. I remember her funeral. I was wearing a navy blue fluffy dress with small white polka dots. My grandfather held me while I leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead as she laid in her casket. I remember thinking about how cold she was.
• I remember the time I would eat little yellow flowers out of my backyard.
• The very first movie Mom and I recorded on our new VCR (look it up you young whipper-snappers) was Willy Wonka with Gene Wilder.
• The time I was stung by a bee in between my legs on my thigh as I was running around the backyard. So random.
• I remember catching what I thought was a butterfly in my hands in the front yard of my great grandmother’s property in Kentucky. When I opened my hands, it was a huge grasshopper and I freaked out. Have you ever looked at them close up?! Ew.
• I remember the time I was in Florida at Christmas with my grandparents and Mom. We were in their RV and I was sleeping on the bed that was above the driver’s seat. I loved it up there. What happened that night was just like the Night Before Christmas poem. A noise woke me up, and I heard something on the roof. I looked towards the door of the RV and saw a silhouette through the window of Santa. I kid you not. The hat, the beard, everything. To this day, I still have no idea who that was and my grandparents have never told me the truth.
• I remember my first concert. Mom took me to see Michael Jackson on his Bad tour in St. Louis. It was so good. I remember being startled when it began because I had never heard anything so loud in my life.
• Speaking of Michael Jackson, a kid named James had such a huge crush on me in 4th grade that every time I entered the classroom, he would start to sing MJ’s The Way You Make Me Feel. I was so embarrassed every single time.
• I remember the time I was playing tag during recess in 1st or 2nd grade and one of the boys tagged me but pushed me too hard. I fell forward, scratching up the whole side of my face on the asphalt. I was afraid to show anyone so I covered my face until I got inside the classroom. Thankfully, it did not leave any scars.
• I remember my first crush in 1st grade. His name was Jeremy. He liked me too but I was super jealous of him when he got the lead role in the school Christmas play. LOL
• I remember one of my favorite things to do around Christmas was make the cookies and decorate them. I still love it.
• My grandfather worked for McDonnell Douglas, now Boeing, as an engineer. He was the supervisor and they worked on the fighter jets. He worked evenings so if it was not a school night, I would get to stay up late waiting on him to come home. In the summer, we would eat watermelon on the back porch which was screened in. So it was like sitting outside without worrying about bugs. Then we would watch Johnny Carson.
• There was a time I was staying with my grandparents in Kentucky during the summer and my grandmother, who I call Mimi, let me drive her car down the lane. It’s out in the middle of nowhere with lots of land so it was no big deal. I sat on her lap while she did the petals. I accidentally drove through the neighbor’s cornfield. He was nice about it though.
• I used to go fishing with my grandparents as well. Lots of memories staying at the lake in the RV, firepits, and lightening bugs.
• I remember the smell that came from inside the orange plastic pumpkin that was full of Halloween candy. Secret tip: I can recreate that smell today by simply putting candy in it. Yes, I still have that same pumpkin.
• I remember my Mimi would rub my fingers to help me fall asleep at night. And when she would stop, I would shake my hand so she knew I was still awake.