Favorite Childhood Memory

[Beebeeblue]

Happy Happy post... Childhood memories...

My favorite is when we used to go to my grandfather's farm when he was making syrup. Yes, ladies and gents, good ol fashioned sugar cane syrup. Me and my cousin would walk around chewing on sugar cane till we would puke. But one year, all 5 of the kids were there..(my mom's bros and sis) and all of the grandkids(thats us) ran the fields wild. We were black from the dirt, and our parents just hosed us off afterwards. It was great. Just being a kid.

 

[Earthgoddess]

I know I am being too sentimental but too bad,I just can't help myself.
Just now I had a really wonderful thing happen.Well it was a few hours ago but at any rate.
My little one and I were sitting on the back deck looking at our garden all dappled with sunshine.His little body was all cool and soggy from the sprinkler,and he was radiantly exhausted. He snuggled deeply into my lap and began to sing "Puff the Magic Dragon" to me.
We could smell the neighbors' roses and our strawberries were the perfect snack. He looked up at me and said,"Mommy this is the bestest rememory I ever had."
I almost cried from the absolute purity and conviction of his statement.
I started pondering my own happiest childhood moment and realized that I actually have a photo of it.
I am swinging on my Mom's lap,it is the summer of '70,so I am almost 4. My little sister is still curled deep within my Mom's body. She has only the slightest bulge. I am throwing my head back and laughing as my Dad snapped frame after frame. Our yard looks lush and deeply green. The sky is a hazy blue,and my little legs are smudged with grass stains and dirt. I remember feeling like the most special person in my parent's universe that day. Even now as I look at the photo I can feel my back against her belly-soft and warm. She was leaning back as she pumped her legs and I felt totally cradled and safe. My Dad was part of the fun because he kept cheering us on to swing higher. It was a crystallizing moment for me-I feel rich having the photos-it is proof that instances of perfection exist.

Whew,made myself cry more..gol dang hormones...Excuse me for being sappy I guess summer does that*sniffles and wipes nose(on handerchief not sleeve)*
I hope all of you find a piece of happiness and pleasure today.

 

[Merelan]

Hand me some of those tissues too.....
Thank you for sharing such an intimate, special memory.
Booooo hoooooo.......

 

[Gingersnap]

My favorite memory from childhood is going to my grandparents on christmas eve. I have over fifty cousins and all were there with their parents. We each got one small present usually something they had made. Those christmas eves and sitting on my grandfathers lap watching baseball are the best ones of my life. Oh, helping him in his garden and with his fruit trees.....

Thanks so much for starting this thread you brought back a wonderful memory for me.....



[This message has been edited by Gingersnap (edited 06-02-2000).]

 

[Sonora]

Probably trading lame, childish jokes back and forth with my grandpa. And him laughing at every one like it was the best joke in the world. He would laugh just as hard the 100th time I'd tell him as he did the 1st time. ex: How do you catch a unique sqirrel?? Unique up on him.

 

[Earthgoddess]

mmm warm fuzzies to all

 

[Angelique]

My favorite childhood memory is of my grandparents on my mother’s side. Each New Years Eve my parents would drop me and my brother off at their house for the night. I recall anxiously awaiting this evening from the time Thanksgiving rolled around all the way through Christmas. When the day finally came and my folks would say good bye, I would bubble with excitement knowing how much fun I would have with two of the people I loved most in my life.

Our evenings would start out by playing a few card games, followed by popcorn and homemade lemonade. I used to sit quietly next to my grandmother as she lovingly tickled my back with her aging fingers. She had suffered from MS and was very weak but would never turn down my request for her tender touch. My brother would be sitting next to my grandfather, trying desperately to find the next word in a word search. It had become a race to see who could find words first, with my grandfather usually taking entirely too long and thus allowing my brother or me to locate the hidden letters first.

When Dick Clark would come on the television, my brother and I would switch places. As I sat in my grandfather’s lap, he would always nuzzle his face into my neck and squeeze me so tight that sometimes I felt his loving would cause me to burst. This was always followed by me giving him a huge kiss on the lips, and as always when I pulled away from him, I would have to wipe his nose print off my tiny glasses. Grandpa would just laugh and apologize to me, then squeeze me again and call me his ‘little princess’.

We would sit together, me cuddled in his arms and watch Dick Clark from beginning to end, anxiously awaiting the countdown. As the clock neared 11:45, Grandpa would lift me from his lap and go to the hall closet to retrieve the horns, hats and ‘clickers’, as I called them. We would dress ourselves and wait with the excitement of a new year rapidly approaching.

In a synchronous chant, we would count down, “10, 9, 8, 7...” until finally, the ball would drop and we would yell “Happy New Year!!!” Happiness radiated from my body as I hugged my grandfather then approached my grandmother. As always, a few tears would trickle down her cheek as her frail arms reached to embrace me. Her hugs were never strong, but the emotion that transferred from her body to mine was unmistakable. I knew these people loved my brother and me more than life itself.

After us kids had calmed down, my grandparents would indicate that it was time to sleep. My brother and I would just look at each other and giggle, knowing that each year, we did not go straight to sleep, but always had a surprise planned for them. As we snuggled into each of our sleeping bags, the lights would click off, followed by the “I love you...sleep well” gift from my grandparents. I now know that they knew we wouldn’t go to sleep right away, but never did they indicate to us kids that they anticipated the ‘surprise’ that we offered each year.

My brother and I would wait all of five minutes before sneaking out of our sleeping bags. We would quietly flip on the kitchen light and begin searching for our tools. Coloring books and crayons, construction paper and scissors were our weapons. For the next thirty minutes or so, we would create “I love you” cards for them, diligently working towards perfection before carefully putting the items away.

Next, I would crawl up onto the old fashioned counter, open the cupboard door and remove ceramic cereal bowls, coffee cups and saucers while my brother retrieved the spoons, Wheaties cereal and instant coffee from the lower cupboards. I didn’t realize it then, but know now that the clanking of the bowls and tiny plates inevitably revealed what we were up to, yet my grandparents faked sleep and never once interrupted us.

My brother would set the table for breakfast, while I would begin pouring the cereal into their respective bowls, then carefully spooned the coffee crystals into two mugs for each of them. We then topped off their settings with the imaginative creations we had made before tiptoeing back to our sleeping bags. Soon we were asleep.

When morning came, my grandparents would wake us and with childish giddiness we would walk into the kitchen. I’ll never forget the look of surprise that washed over their face as they remarked that little elves must have visited their home while everyone was sleeping. My brother and I would giggle and explain that it wasn’t elves, but us that had stayed up late and created the wondrous surprise for them.

Earthgoddess, your topic could not have come at a better time. June 3rd will be the 12-year anniversary of my grandfather’s death, due to an accident caused by a drunk driver. Grandma passed away in my arms the day the Gulf War started. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of them and remember how much love these two people had showered me with. I miss them terribly, and while this long, lengthy story may not mean much to anyone else on the board, it has given me a moment to reflect on those childhood memories that I still miss, even as an adult and I truly appreciate that. Thank you for starting this thread, my friend.

 

[Earthgoddess]

*hugs* to you,guess this is what we all needed...thank you for sharing with me,friend

 

[Earthgoddess]

I am loving reading these...I am totally hormonal and this is wonderful...yeah!!!

 

[ShyGuy68]

One of my favorite memories is the times when my mother let me lay on her knees, and tickled my back, I laughed so hard and begged her to stop, but then when she did I asked her to continue!

I'm still very sensitive on to this day, but it's only when I'm turned on sexual. wow!


ShyGuy

 

[Cyra_3]

I remember watching 'The Princess Bride' for the first time on my fathers knee shortly after my parents got divorced and it has always reminded me that my dad would be there for me no matter what. You may all remember the film but it's the first memory I have of my childhood.

 

[CreamyLady]

I was at pre-school. Except for my friend Michael, all the other kids were playing in the "house" -- dolls and dishes -- or in the kickball game.

Michael and I had not turned in our clay, and were sitting at the bench making animals and monsters.

The teacher came over and told us that we had to go play with the others, and took our clay and put it back in the barrel. I think Michael was supposed to go the kickball game; I was steered in the direction of the "house."

Instead, we went over to the Big Tricycle, and I sat and steered while he pushed from behind. We went crashing through the game and the house, and spent the rest of the afternoon on the bench.

That is such a good memory.