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Random childhood memories, good or bad, important or frivolous ...

It sounds like I’m not alone, but I had a difficult childhood.

But I was very close to my wonderful grandmother. Lots of memories of her.

I remember her home so well - it was in a beautiful Art Deco high rise. It was warm, and safe. I lived there on and off. She had Persian rugs in every room, art on every wall, chandeliers, and a view of the lake. It was on the 21st floor and I remember sitting on her blue silk couch just gazing out the window at the water, quietly by myself.

This print was in that living room and fought to have it when she passed...

C65DC0F1-0E3F-430F-9AA0-A7E3F0E3694A.jpeg

She was an incredible cook. I remember throwing a temper tantrum at my baptism party when I was 7 - she made her *special* cheesecake and everyone else ate it before I got a slice. Well heck, I only agreed to a baptism to EAT CHEESECAKE!
 
Cerulean, that's wonderful!
 
My dad worked as a fireman at the naval base. I can remember waiting for him to come home and he would pick me up and put me on his lap. He wore a navy wool dress uniform that was scratchy but I didn't care...I worshiped my dad...
 
They say memory forms when a child starts speaking. I was an early speaker, so my first memory dates back to the time I was probably 10 months of age. The huge patio of the country house my parents were renting for the summer.

The neighbor's cat with whom I played. His huge beautiful eyes. His owner, an old lady, whose husband was killed in WWII and her two kids died of dysentery, also during the war. She was very religious. It gives one hope.

And my first music teacher, another neighbor (I failed music). She was a quiet woman but my mom found her "pretentious". And only recently did I guess why.

Her last name was Lagarpov. Holly Molly, Frederic-Cesar de La Harpe (Lagarp in Russian) was a Swiss citizen and the favorite teacher of tzar Alexander the First. He left some side family in Russia, and my music teacher was a remote offspring of those gentry, hence, the dichotomy between her obvious education and very poor, quiet life. She married a typical proletarian and alcoholic, who would come home drunk, every night, and sometimes would beat her up. The shamings of all female neighbors did nothing, but if my father was at home, all he needed to say was, loudly "shame on you, Vitya", and the dude would magically calm down till the morning. My father was the biggest protector of women.
 
The good memories: I remember in the winter around Christmas time, I was ages 6-12, I would sit by our big front window at night and look out at the fresh snow, it twinkled and looked like diamonds glittering, I loved it. The Christmas tree decorating, I always loved playing with the nativity setting. Playing outside until it was dark or when your parents called you to come in. Collecting lightening bugs and putting them in a jar. It was safe back then and we could ride our bikes all over our neighborhood and had cousins in the same neighborhood so we would go to their house. We would go to my grandmas house in Ky almost every other weekend and she lived up on a mountain and down a holler (southern term) literally, those weekends were the best, she had a walnut tree and we used to sit out in the yard with a hammer and crack the walnuts and eat them.
I miss being able to feel safe in a neighborhood like we did when we were young.
The bad: I was at a sleepover around age 9 or 10 and woke up to my friend's drunk father and his friends touching me, I never told anyone but I never stayed over again.
 
Reading these reminds me how blessed I am. I have truly been fortunate in my life to have such a loving family despite being quite poor as a child! I have many wonderful random childhood memories:
  • My grandpa sneaking us Minties (sweets) and pretending to fine us 50 cents for saying the word WOW too much! :lol:
  • My grandma's selective hearing/eyesight, somehow could always see/hear the beloved dog though... :???:
  • My sisters playing "cubbies" with me in the garden. Creating a tree house together & pretending to be flower fairies.
  • Helping Dad in the paddocks with fencing, tractor work of whatever. Riding on the back of the motorbike. Probably more hindrance than help but loved tagging along anyway.
  • Extended family BBQ's as all my uncles lived along the same road (on farms) so it would be so much fun playing with all my cousins. :love: Pity we are all so scattered apart now, many I haven't seen in years.
 
I used to sit on Dad's knee and 'drive' the car into the garage =)2
I would go for a walk with mum to the shop and we would peek over fences into gardens to look for fairies
I still look for them
 
I lived in Singapore for three years when I was 5, 6 and 7 posted there with my father's job. I remember there was a hill to the back of our house where the kids in the neighborhood used to slide down on simple pieces of board with a string to hold onto. We wore the path down through use and whizzed down that hill at great speed. Hours of endless fun.

I also remember that we went to the local swimming pool every week on a Sunday and met up with friends there. I learnt to swim young and still enjoy swimming now. But on one occasion we got back to our house to find it had been burgled. 7 (I remember the number) of my mother's rings had been stolen, including her little three stone diamond engagement ring. The rings had been collected during other postings, including one in India. What made it worse was mum had replaced the collection with one ruby ring from the insurance money. Later on we discovered it was a synthetic stone. I still strangely lament the loss. Something to do with the history of them and how they had been collected.
 
I'm not sure how to categorize this memory.

My family moved away from the midwest when I was entering 5th grade, which puts my age around 10 or 11.
In the midwest I remember having a huge crush (if pre-pubescent boys even can have a crush one anyone) on one of my dad's friends.
Let's call him Jake.

Jake came to our house for dinner/BBQs several times a year, a close family friend.
He'd hang out with mom, dad, and all 4 of us kids.

Jake was a tall husky man in his 30s with a belly, olive skin, a full dense black beard.
He looked Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Arab, Greek, etc.
This is exactly they type of man that, as an adult, I am most attracted to.

Let me immediately add that there nothing inappropriate transpired between us.
Nothing! Zero.

That said, I remember one time he put me on his lap, with the whole family present.
There was nothing shocking, wrong, or even worth anyone noticing.
He probably did this to all 3 of my siblings.

What I felt as I looked up at his face defies description.
I'm certain it was not in any way sexual on his part, and on my part, since I was only 10 or 11.

This whole subject is so uber-taboo I hesitate to even post it in today's ridiculously PC and "woke" environment.
Again, Jake and I are 100% not-guilty of any inappropriate behavior or even innuendo.
It was innocent - but in the shadow of my mind he awoke something in me ... sexual desire.

I just find it fascinating that such a ting occurred when I was that age - and how beautiful, pure and innocent it was.
 
I'm not sure how to categorize this memory.

My family moved away from the midwest when I was entering 5th grade, which puts my age around 10 or 11.
In the midwest I remember having a huge crush (if pre-pubescent boys even can have a crush one anyone) on one of my dad's friends.
Let's call him Jake.

Jake came to our house for dinner/BBQs several times a year, a close family friend.
He'd hang out with mom, dad, and all 4 of us kids.

Jake was a tall husky man in his 30s with a belly, olive skin, a full dense black beard.
He looked Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Arab, Greek, etc.
This is exactly they type of man that, as an adult, I am most attracted to.

Let me immediately add that there nothing inappropriate transpired between us.
Nothing! Zero.

That said, I remember one time he put me on his lap, with the whole family present.
There was nothing shocking, wrong, or even worth anyone noticing.
He probably did this to all 3 of my siblings.

What I felt as I looked up at his face defies description.
I'm certain it was not in any way sexual on his part, and on my part, since I was only 10 or 11.

This whole subject is so uber-taboo I hesitate to even post it in today's ridiculously PC and "woke" environment.
Again, Jake and I are 100% not-guilty of any inappropriate behavior or even innuendo.
It was innocent - but in the shadow of my mind he awoke something in me ... sexual desire.

I just find it fascinating that such a ting occurred when I was that age - and how beautiful, pure and innocent it was.

Does your lovelly SO look a little like Jake ?
 
Getting up in the middle of the might to see Haily's comment
The city turned the streets off for quite a few weeks months? ) In the middle of the night for star gazers
 
I just find it fascinating that such a ting occurred when I was that age - and how beautiful, pure and innocent it was.

Perhaps because it was beautiful, pure and innocent meant it freed you up and allowed you to have those rumblings. It was "safe".
 
Perhaps because it was beautiful, pure and innocent meant it freed you up and allowed you to have those rumblings. It was "safe".

Surely.
 
My first really clear memory is the flight when I was moving to the U.S.- I got to see the cockpit and got those little pin-on wings! I remember being peeved when one of the pilots teased me about my accent :)
 
My first really clear memory is the flight when I was moving to the U.S.- I got to see the cockpit and got those little pin-on wings! I remember being peeved when one of the pilots teased me about my accent :)

When i was 3 was my first ride on an airplane
But i mostly vividly recall driving over a bride with blue green side rails on the way home
We flew to Wellington to have xmas with my recently widowed great aunty
i got a train set for Christmas, we went to the zoo and i remenber orange roses at the botamtic gardens
Aunty Neta was minding the neighbour's ginger cat
It was a hot summer
the grass was brown and prickly and i remember bumble bees on her lawn

Aunty Neta and Uncle Horie didn't have children, so i now treasure her ER
 
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