What's your best childhood memory?

Chani

Mon, Mar 27 2006, 12:38 am

It's hard to pick a favorite, since there are so many that were great. One summer when I was about 8 or 9 my grandparents took me to Texas with them to visit family for a month. I got to spend time with my greatgrandparents, eat blackberries off the bush, found arrowheads, rode an extremely placid Hereford bull named Curly (my grandfather's brother had a cattle ranch), swim out in the river everyday with my cousins, and all around just have a dream kid's vacation. At the end of the trip my great uncle gave me a cow, and said that she'd be the start of my herd. Well, indeed, she (and some of her daughters) did multiply...that herd paid for a large part of college.

chen

Wed, Apr 26 2006, 2:42 pm

just one? you ask this of a woman who had twins because she couldn't decide on one set of names? LOL

the All of a Kind Family books by Sydney Taylor. There were not many books about Jewish children at all in my day, even fewer about traditionally observant families, so this series was a real treat!

a cute hat that I called my Heidi hat. It had fake braids attached to it, which I utterly loved because my mother always cut my hair very short.

licking the spoon and the bowl after my mother baked a cake. One memory my children do not have, now that we know about salmonella.

sharing snacks with my best friend while walking home from school. she'd buy one one day, and I'd buy one the next day, and we'd split them.

seeing snow for the first time.

a rhinestone pin that flashed all the colors of the rainbow when I went out in the sun.

going for a walk with my parents on a friday night and seeing a sky filled with stars.

inheriting from my big sister an outfit that was a duplicate of one I had and loved. When I outgrew mine, I couldn't wait to grow into hers!

Our chazzan O"H. I thought he was Moshe Rabbenu. (I had some very peculiar ideas as a child.)

A gorgeous Cinderella-style dress that an aunt gave me to wear for a Purim costume. I have never before or since owned a garment half so beautiful.

"Oneg Shabbat" on Friday mornings in first grade. We used to sing Kiddush in the most beautiful melody that of course I no longer remember.

The thrill of trading in my saved-up allowance (5 cents a week) for a whole DOLLAR BILL! (Get a grip: in those days, candy bars and popsicles were a nickle, and "penny candy" really cost a penny.)

learning how to tie my shoelaces.

The school purim play in which they put real makeup on my face!

Going to a birthday party and discovering that my friend had exactly the same dress I did. (Odd how that's not fun when you are an adult...)

Ok, Ok, I'll stop now.

Motek

Thu, Apr 27 2006, 11:27 am

SaraG wrote:

I don't really have a BEST anything.......I have a lot of happy memories, though!

me too

I enjoyed your post Chani and Chen - wow, I have zero recollection of the first snow, learning to tie my shoes, but I also loved the All of a Kind Family series. Let's see if I remember their names:

Ella
Sara
Henrietta? some H name
Charlotte
Gertie
Charlie

some scenes come to mind from the books (either from my imagination or from pictures in the book):

their standing in a row at the library
polishing their Shabbos shoes with margarine to make them shine

right?

mompete

Thu, Apr 27 2006, 12:13 pm

my sisters and I used to make a lot of trouble during bedtime and my father used to have to come and "warn" us to be quiet or we'd lose our pillows (worst punishment ever!). One night we were up to our usual silliness and we heard our father coming. We hid under our covers and when he walked in, he turned on the light and was holding an ice cream bar for each of us!

Nani

Fri, May 05 2006, 1:10 am

That's cute, mompete!

One of my own favorites was the following. My mom picked me up from school. On the way home I saw a boy from my class riding a bike on his block. I asked him to let me ride it a bit. He asked whether I didn't have my own. I said I didn't. He let me have a turn.

When my mom and I came home, just a little while later, as she unlocked the door and started opening it, I looked in as if I knew where to look. There, just near the bookcase was a brand new bike my parents bought for me a day before.

My mom had such a good laugh... I was 6 years old then.