…I walked to school uphill – both ways – in ten feet of snow. We know it’s an exaggeration, but surely we’ve all shared details of our childhood that aren’t exactly accurate. Even if we’re not intentionally being deceptive…I think our perspective changes as we get older. We misremember things.
Like my daughter who is convinced she fed French fries to the seals at SeaWorld because she has a photo of herself holding a container (of small fish) which looks like a red and white checkered French fry container. Or her memory of walking in the house ahead of her sister, who would have picked up a dead rat that was on the floor but avoided the catastrophe because her big sister saved the day. In reality, Courtney couldn’t even walk, so I was carrying her. We’d put out mouse poison before leaving on vacation, and there was a (small) dead mouse next to the stairs when we returned.
I was recently together with my family, and Mom had been sorting through the attic and set aside my sister Angie’s Barbie camper along with some other items. We decided to sift through everything. My other sister, Deb, began bemoaning the fact that she didn’t have a Barbie camper…or any other Barbie accessories for that matter. Then I remembered I had some type of Barbie home. I remembered the way the bunk beds folded down when the case was opened. Angie remembered it was a Barbie Snow Cabin. That’s right! I wondered aloud where it could have gone.
Tada! My nephew pulled it out of the box – Angie’s box! Chaos erupted. We each wanted to make sure no one else was wrongly getting our childhood stuff. We started tearing through Barbie clothes. All the while, Deb just stood there, saying over and over, “It can’t be mine, because I didn’t have any good Barbie stuff.” A flood of stories, memories and (light-hearted) accusations continued for quite some time. We laughed until we cried…and our husbands wisely kept their distance, probably thinking we’d lost our minds.
We hadn’t lost our minds, but I’m sure each of us was remembering with a bit of an individual slant!
What’s one of your favorite childhood memories?
How do you think you’ll remember today or this period of your life?
Remember, God is the One who makes you and us strong in Christ. God made us his chosen people. 1 Corinthians 1:21
By Susan, Pure Purpose
Leave a Comment
This is so hilarious!! My sister and I have done similar things…”what? that was MY pink hippo…wasn’t it…???”
So funny now to see the disparity of memories amongst my own children:
“remember when we took that 2-week road-trip vacation?”
“y’mean, that weekend trip to TX?”
“no, no…dontcha mean that trip to that camping place where we saw the bears & stayed up all night & mommy let us roast six bags of marshmallows…?”
Huh?
(hand-over-mouth, suppressing raucous laughter) – “No, sweetie, I’m not laughing, I just, ahem, I just have a cough…”
Thanks for sharing! I’m laughing hysterically, imagining the tone, gestures and looks you’d give each other!
I still want a Peaches n Cream Barbie! =)
I hadn’t heard of that one! So, I had to go look it up 🙂 Perhaps it will be on your Christmas list this year!
Thanks for sharing that story. I also have two sisters, so I know how sometimes we remember things a bit differently. When we were cleaning out our Mom and Dad’s house there was a lot of stories, remembering, and some tears. Most of our memories of growing up together are good ones. I still would not take anything for the relationship we still have today. I treasure my brother and sisters. They are truly my best friends after all they are the people I have the most in common with. Thanks again for sharing your story.
Savor the memories, Deborah!
I have been going thru a tough time this past year, but I believe when I look back at this year, I will see how God used this time to change my life in so many ways. I believe it will be the stepping stone that took me to the next level.
I loved reading these stories about your childhood! I see this now with my daughters!
Bernice
Are you stuck in a rut?
I’m lifting you up and trusting God to guide and provide through your next steps, Bernice!
This reminds me of the Tinker Bell Christmas ornament. For years as a child and even into our teens, my older sister insisted that Tinker Bell was hers and another ornament from a trip to Disney was mine. It made a difference because we always put our own ornaments on the tree first and then worked together to do the ones that had no specific owner. I believed my sister, because I didn’t have any reason not to. Plus, I liked the other one better. It was weird, though, because my sister fought for it every year and I was like, “What’s your problem? I know it’s yours.”
A few years ago, when my mom cleared out the Christmas things and gave my siblings our childhood ornaments, Tinker Bell appeared in my box. I protested, saying it was my sister’s. My mom looked at me like I was crazy. I still insisted, and then she showed me the bottom of the ornament. Very clearly on the bottom are my initials. I don’t know why I never saw that before, but Tinker Bell now hangs from my tree! And what’s funny is that I can’t even remember which ornament it was that I thought was mine.
And how did your sister react when she “discovered” it wasn’t yours?!