I Remember

40 Replies

As I am sure most of the world knows, we are all dealing with having to be isolated, away from each other. Many of us are dealing with having to be on our own, alone. And that is very new. I am enjoying my hermit mode but today I wasn’t interested in reading or watching TV, I wanted to think, I wanted to remember. So I made myself a little challenge: how much could I remember of my childhood. To put things into context I have more than six decades of experiences to remember.

Because I have lived in so many places and I know what years I did, I can calculate where my memories fit in the whole scheme of things.

Winnipeg, Manitoba  ages 0-5

I remember my very first friend:  Tanis.  I liked dogs better than I did most children.  Tanis was a boxer. I don’t remember any of the kids.

Kirkland Lake, Northern Ontario ages 5 – 8

I remember picking blueberries for my mother to make a pie. I had a pail but I probably ate as much as I put in that pail. I remember the rocks we had to climb. It was part of the Canadian Shield. If I think hard enough, I can feel the stone beneath my hands and smell the grass. I remember the houses we lived in, that I played in.  I remember a horse and sulky racing along the main street. (A sulky is a lightweight cart with two wheels and a seat for the driver)

Good memories.

Saint John, New Brunswick ages 8 – 13

I can remember walking back from a local swimming hole with a group of boys and girls and it was hot. It was hot enough that I took off my shirt. A boy came up to me and was horrified that I would take my shirt off, he told me it was not allowed because I was a girl. I’m retorted that I might be a girl but I didn’t have anything to prove I was a woman. Or something along those lines. His comment upset me and I went home and told my mother. I don’t remember her reaction but I don’t remember being upset again. I also did not take off my shirt again, in public.

I remember watching kittens play beneath the feet of huge horses. It was a working farm that my friend Marion lived on. The horses were Clydesdales  or Percherons, really big working horses but so incredibly gentle. I remember playing with the piglets. Until they grew up and became mean.  They were destined for the pot.  I spent a lot of time on that farm. The family was so incredibly generous.

I remember Kathy T. and her cat Rusty.  Rusty was an outdoor cat at Kathy’s home but he was best friends with my dog Beau and would come and sleep on my bed at night.

I could continue but this post is long enough.  I am pleased that I could still recall those idyllic times. The person I am today was formed in those distant times and I was lucky, my childhood was a positive one. I plan on one day in the future, looking back on these days.  It has been a rough time but it could have been worse.  I am thankful for the blessings of today, small though they may be.

I enjoyed traipsing through my past.  If your past is remembered, it is not gone.  How about you? Any memories you would like to remember?

 

 

 

 

 

The Canadian Shield  is a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks (geological shield) that forms the ancient geological core of the North American continent. Glaciation has left the area only a thin layer of soil, through which the composition of igneous rock resulting from long volcanic history is frequently visible.[3] With a deep, common, joined bedrock region in eastern and central Canada, the Shield stretches north from the Great Lakes to the Arctic Ocean, covering over half of Canada and most of Greenland; it also extends south into the northern reaches of the United States. Human population is sparse and industrial development is minimal,[4] but mining is prevalent.    WikiPedia

 

 

40 thoughts on “I Remember”

  1. joylennick

    Thanks, Butterfly. I enjoyed reading about your past – it’s so pleasing when old scenes are re-visited and you can almost taste the blackberries you picked. As I have many more years behind me than before me…I sometimes make lightning trips back. I wrote one memoir in 2005 (covering evacuation years in WW2). Like with most people, I imagine, there have been a few mountains to climb and grief to cope with,but I have been overwhelmingly lucky, despite the dips, and now practice mindfulness,and appreciation daily for all my many blessings. Why don’t you write a memoir, Pamela? I ‘m sure it would make fascinating reading… Cheers! x

    Liked by 1 person

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  4. Mark Lanesbury

    The one thing that I loved about my childhood was living way out in the country, among all of these amazing animals and birds, and just how nature worked ‘naturally’. I even got to know many that are now so rare. The platypus, echidna’s…and sometimes on a good day I would lay down in the long grass with the wind blowing over me I could hear her…that heartbeat that holds us all within it, even though we ungratefully destroy so much of her.
    One day she will build an immunity to us…but then again, maybe she already has ❤️ 🙏🏼 🦋

    Liked by 3 people

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  5. Murphy's Law

    I loved reading your memories Pam. I remember when my sister, who was 10 years older than me, was leaving for college. She had a pearl necklace that I loved and she gave it to me! I remember family picnics at beautiful lakes. I remember my first roller-coaster ride I couldn’t wait to get on, and then couldn’t wait to get off of!

    My mother used to hide candy in the house for herself. I remember being home alone and scavenging in the pantry. I came upon this ginormous bar of CHOCOLATE and thought I found the mother lode, It was BAKER”S CHOCOLATE! Ewwwww. Worst stuff I ever tasted.

    I remember my first kiss. What a dud! Lol. I remember every cat and dog I had and love them to this day. I was friends with all my classmates, but not on a personal level. I wasn’t allowed to have a playmate at home, or go to their homes. I envied all the girls on Monday morning in school talking about all the things they did with each other over the weekend.

    All our lives are filled with memories…the good, the bad and the ugly. It’s who we are today. You really should write a memoir!
    Ginger

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  9. John Hric

    Canadian Shield – glad you included the wiki link. I was starting to think of Norse mythology and the Valkyrie. Good memories. I can remember days and days spent wandering the woods and along the creek. Still an excellent place to get ‘lost’. Or would it be ‘found’. The best part of those memories is being able to lead us back to peace and sanity now.

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  10. Cheryl

    A soul sister! I so understand, Pam. I have been contemplating such a post myself but felt it might never end. I love your memories. I can close my eyes and smell the air, freshly cut grass or soft earth of a memory. It amazes me that some of my closest friends remember very little of their young lives. They express that they are different people now. Astonishingly, I am pretty much the same as I came into the world in terms of idealism, hope, wonder and appreciation. I like to think I have grown emotionally from my experiences, but I never forget them-even the tough ones- for they define who I am. Thanks for sharing these parts of you! 🤗

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. John W. Howell

    I enjoyed the walk through your memories, Pam. I lived in one spot in Detroit until I was fifteen. I have so many memories of those days. I had a friend, Carolyn, and we used to go without shirts in the summer. I don’t think anyone thought differently about it. We were inseparable. Sadly she moved away when I was ten and we lost touch. We did find each other again in college and by then she was engaged to be married. I went to the wedding. I wanted to stand up at the “Does anyone have a reason why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony?” part but behaved myself.

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  13. Jennie

    My goodness, these are clear and wonderful memories. I’m glad you spent the time to remember and to share with us. Isn’t it interesting, it’s often the small or obscure moment that stick with us. I hope you know the classic children’s book, “Blueberries For Sal” by Robert McCloskey. It is your blueberry picking!

    I have so many childhood memories. Like yours, they are clear as a bell, yet small moments. My earliest is at the beach, I must have been three. A boy came along and hit my sister with a sand shovel. We had just seen a blimp overhead in the sky. I remember the sweater my little sister was wearing, it had snaps instead of buttons.

    Thank you for a wonderful post of memories, Pam. Best to you.

    Liked by 1 person

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  14. rangewriter

    Thanks for explaining the Canadian Shield. I’d not heard of that before. Great memories. I like that they are about animals. And disrobing! Ha. That is funny.

    I remember the smell of leaves in the fall when I was tasked with raking them. I think I was between 8 – 11.

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  15. tidalscribe

    On hot summer days ( rare I expect ) I would say to my mother ‘can I have a bare chest’ and being thrilled when she said yes. This would have been somewhere between 6 and 11 – probably nearer 6 as I also remember my mother talking with her friend, who had three older daughters, about junior bras for me!

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