What's your earliest memory? I'm not sure what the childhood experts say, but my earliest memory is before I could speak. Of course, I didn't speak until I was three, so maybe that isn't so amazing, lol. My brother Danny and I are 15-months apart, we have always been close. Even today, 1,500 miles apart that closeness remains....
Ok, what was I talking about, oh yeah, memory....
My earliest memory is sitting on the changing table in the hallway, my brother Danny was sitting beside me. My mother was putting on our white high-top baby shoes with little bells on the laces. I remember as my mother put my shoes on, I looked over at Danny's shoes. And then I exclaimed (in what I now know must have been baby talk), "Look Mom, I have shoes just like Danny's." Fade to black, that's the end of that memory....
I started thinking about early memories today, because of something that happened a few nights ago with Sammi. Sammi crawled up into my lap with one of her favorite books. This book is filled with pictures of lots of different animals and she just loves to point and talk about them. The picture that caught her eye this particular night was of a little lop-eared bunny. She said, "Look Mom, just like our little Hoppy"... Our Hoppy died suddenly last July. (Click here to read, Having To Say Good-bye To A Furry Friend.) I didn't know how to explain that Hoppy died, so I told her he was very sick and had to go live on a farm with other bunnies to feel better.
She sat quietly for a minute just looking at the picture and then in a very quiet voice said.... "Hi Hoppy, we miss you. Would you like to come back home now....?" I didn't say anything as the tears welled up in my eyes. I was completely surprised that Sammi, not quite 3 yrs old when her bunny died , remembered. All I could mutter was "I miss him too..." and then we turned the page to look at other animals.
I wonder if this memory she has of her bunny will always remain, or will it fade like most moments do in our childhood? I suppose only time will tell. I know one thing, guess who is getting a new baby bunny next Easter?
Today's Quote: "Memory...is the diary that we all carry about with us." ~~Oscar Wilde
16 comments:
As I was adding an entry to my own journal http://journals.aol.com/dalastunicorn/LIFEAsISeeIt/
my alert popped up informing me that there was a new
entry to yours. I decided to take a break and read it.
Now sitting here in tears, I just wanted to let you know
that you have been an inspiration to me! I have been
reading your journal for quite some time now and I
receantly decided to start my own, thinking it would be
a great way for me to express myself as well! Anywho,
I just wanted to say thanks for all the time and effort you
have put into your own journal. It is reassuring to know
that I am not the only one who has had to go on scavenger
hunts to find things such as the missing peanut butter!
Aww - sweet Hoppy moment. I'm amazed by how early your earliest memory is. On the changing table...little baby shoes...baby-talk. Wow! My mom used to tell us she remembers looking out through the bars in her crib. I certainly don't remember anything before age 3 - at least!
i really think it is a mistake to lie to your daughter about where the bunny went... i believe in telling children the truth....
it would be a good opportunity to talk about heaven, or an afterlife... your daughter is going to go on believing that her bunny wont come home... it seems to be a perfect opportunity to discuss god, or a higher power too...
im sure your kids watch cartoons and tv, they are getting a lot of ideas from tv and books, you should realize that what you take the time to talk about will have great impact...
ive raised 3 daughters of my own, 22, 20 and 16, and they have always appreciated me telling them the truth, and i dont mean in a harsh way...
take opportunities to teach your children, dont lie...
ctomlin597@aol.com
I don't really have very early memories...just a snatch of something here and there. I don't think I can really call back anything from before I was four or five. I hope that my journals and pictures will make it easier for my kids to remember some of the good things...
How sweet about Sammi remembering her bunny...
~Tina
My earliest memory is of me playing with a friend and she asked me how old I was. I said I was 3 1/2. For some reason, that's all that my brain has retained, but it sure makes it easy to know how old I was then.
That got me to thinking -- Beth had just turned 3 when her dad moved away, Heather was only 1. Beth says she remembers when he lived here, but I don't think she really does. I kept all of his pictures in their bedroom for them, so his presence was still around and I think she just remembers remembering, ya know?
Comment from ctomlin: "i really think it is a mistake to lie to your daughter about where the bunny went... i believe in telling children the truth...."
Did your children believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny or Tooth Fairy? I think it's very sad that people feel they must make little ones grow up so fast these days. At the age of 2, it's much easier for her to understand that her bunny was sick and had to go away, than the concept of God. It's ok to protect our children from reality of life for awhile.
What a sweet entry!! I believe children can remember things from when they were in the womb actually and that just fades over time, just like our memories do as adults. I have memories that mostly associate themselves with smells. Such as the smell of my Grammie's purse when she would open it up (smelled like peppermit and medicine) or the smell of my other grandmother's house that used to take care of me, and even the texture of this grandmother's couch. So, I am constantly asking Emma about her memories of "when she was a baby" and often times I am totally AMAZED at what she tells me!!
Hugs and love, Lisa
Well said, love that picture too! Shana
How sweet! I love the picture also!
My five year old comes up with stuff that he remembers all the time. Even back to about 18 months. I often wonder how long he will keep those memories.
~Heather
awwwwww, what a great entry.........cute photo too! my first memory was having coffee spilled on me when I was wearing my blue velvet dress.......I wasn't even three yet......my mom says impossible that I remember this......but she concedes it happened...........wish it woudl have been a happy memory though! LOL
~jerseygirl
It's funny you should do this entry on memory because just recently I read an article that said that, on the whole, most people do not remember many things before the age of 5 or 6. The article also stated that research is showing that people who DO remember things before those ages have had parents (or some adult figure) who constantly interacted with them and that there was constant talking going on between the parent and the child. I thought that was very interesting.
What a sweet entry. I remember things in a very broken way. my childhood was pretty rough. So, good things happened once in awhile and so i captured them....forgot about the rest. but, what I can remember, they are good. :) thanks for sharing.
Memory is an amazing thing.
Awww... I swear, I'm misting up here. So sad. Poor little baby. Isn't it amazing what children remember and how they express their sadness? I think it's probably good therapy for her to sit and talk to her bunny through that book. It's healthy, a positive way for her to work through her sadness at losing him. Maybe you should do that more often with both of them... show them photos of Hoppy and talk about the fun times they had. Poor babies. :(
Poor baby. I remember when my daughter was five and her parakeet died. She took it pretty hard. I was luckier than you because she'd visited a friends farm and learned a lot about animals, their births and deaths, their purpose too. Nice entry. *Barb*
I had a lop-eared rabbit that looked just like this one.... his name is Cadberry. He has stayed in Florida with my son. Thanks for sharing! judi
Awww! What a touching story. Glad her memories are happy ones of her bunny. Bet this Easter will be a thrill.
Post a Comment