Writing prompt:
What are some of your best memories from childhood?
I think I spent the majority of my childhood playing with my sister. We didn't always get along but we were close enough in age that playing together just made sense. I did always hate when she wanted to play with my friends...they were MY friends! I laugh about it now, but it sure was annoying when I was 7 or 8 years old. Maria and I played so many different things growing up. We were big fans of Barbie. I'm still wondering, "What did our parents do with our Barbie toys?" We used to pretend that we were working in an office. Answering the phone, lining up tablets of papers. We played school, store, and even filmed our own "cooking" show. We made spaghetti with jarred sauce and canned green beans. We also made several music videos in our back yard to the ever popular "Ace of Base" CD. Have you seen the sign lately? :)
I wasn't a very popular kid in school. I was always trying to be older than my age...and I usually pulled it off so well that it made most other kids not like me a whole lot. I was (and am) a rule-follower...although if you know me well, you know that I can bend rules a little...I don't like to get into trouble, though! I wore my moms clothes as a 6th grader...totally NOT cool...just an FYI for any 6th grader out there...no matter how cool your mom is or how much you love her clothes...wearing them is a BAD idea!
I think another memory that sticks out was when we lived in Boise, Idaho. At the end of our street there was an undeveloped field. It was in the process of being turned into yet another subdivision and there was a huge pile of gravel. A neighborhood boy who was in a wheelchair was stuck in the gravel. I remember hearing him holler for help. I went across the road and helped him get his wheelchair out of the gravel and back onto the sidewalk. I don't know why that memory has always been so clear in my mind...but for some reason I think about it often...or at least more often than one would expect considering I was in 3rd or 4th grade at the time and I'm now 30 (almost 31).
I loved being in gymnastics and had aspirations of being a gymnast in the Olympics like Mary Lou Retton. I loved her. I read so many books about her I probably could have told you just about anything you did or didn't want to know about her. Unfortunately, I wasn't THAT talented. My Olympic dreams are now to just attend the games and watch the ladies all-around competition. I still LOVE gymnastics.
One of the most disturbing, upsetting, probably needed to get counseling memories is from when I was 9. My friend Carmen lived across the street and her brother, who was 7 at the time, was found in their shed with a dog-collar around his neck...I still remember seeing him being wheeled out of the back yard. Watching from our sidewalk as he was put into the ambulance...his arm...blue...fell to the side and the paramedic gently placed his arm back by his side. Carmen was with my mom and I. Crying. Bawling. Their family was never the same after that day. I can see it in my mind as if it happened today. Kids that are 9 shouldn't have to experience their brothers die and 7 year old kids shouldn't hang themselves. It was terrible. I still think I needed counseling after having witnessed that.
Wow...didn't think my writing would take a sad turn. Honestly most of my memories from childhood are very happy. I had a dog-washing business with my friend Alexia, had a large number of "yard sales" selling stuffed animals and homemade friendship bracelets to the neighborhood kids and so much more.
What are YOUR memories from childhood?
Disclaimer - I did not participate in Week 1 or 2 (darn scheduling conflicts) so my participation in this challenge is from Week 3 on.
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