I was thinking about my childhood the other day and I began to remember many things I had long forgotten. I then tried to think back as far as I could and I recalled two memories from when I was very small.

Memory #1

I was around 4 years old and in nursery school. I remember having apple juice and graham crackers for snacks. I remember crying a lot because I felt lost. I also wanted to ride one of the tricycles that the other children got to ride, but for some reason, I was not allowed. I feel like something significant happened there because to this day, the smell of apple juice brings me back to that nursery school and makes me want to hurl. I wish I could remember more. Maybe I shouldn’t…

Memory #2

I think I must’ve been around 5 or 6 when my mom and dad and I went to Missouri to visit one of my mom’s relatives. I remember a teenage girl nicknamed “Butter” and she had bright red hair. She was always looking at herself in the mirror and fixing her hair. I looked up to her at the time. She seemed so sophisticated! I wanted to be just like her! I remember an older woman, whom I adored because she was so kind and loving. She was always cooking something delicious! She reminded me of Hazel, The Witch, a book that I had read myself or had someone else read to me. I can’t remember which. I’m pretty sure we were on a farm but the only animals I remember are pigs. I laugh now but back then I stood on a hill and threw rocks down below at the pigs in a pen. Poor little pigs. I wonder where everyone else was when I was doing this? Were they not watching me? I could have wandered off and got lost or hurt myself, being a little girl not used to country life.

How far back can you remember?