I've been trying to think back to my first memory. I have a bunch of memories in our "old house" - the one we lived in before we moved to the house on the corner of Ebenezer Road and Robinson Road. This "old house" was in a neighborhood that was the distance of a block away from my elementary school. There are no blocks in Peachtree City, but it was close, that's all.
One night my parents were out on a date, or something, and my siblings were in charge of watching me. I was younger than 5, but even then my oldest brother, Nate, was 15 or 16. We had leftover spaghetti for dinner. I remember eating it out of one of those old fashioned glass pyrex dishes - it was tiny and had handles. My sister was probably in charge of getting me ready for bed. I was laying in bed with the hall light on, probably to comfort me. Next thing I know I'm throwing up spaghetti all over myself. What a fun babysitting job for my siblings.
Another day I was sitting on top of my parent's bathroom counter while my mom was fixing my hair. I had recently gotten my ears pierced and we were admiring them in the mirror. All of a sudden, my mom PULLED A HAIR THROUGH MY EARRING HOLE. There was a hair stuck IN the hole! It was possibly the coolest thing I had seen in my life. We were both amazed! Ever since then I have wanted a hair to get stuck in my earring holes again.
One day during nap time, my mom was vacuuming downstairs. I came down the stairs wearing my hot pink Lady And The Tramp nightgown. I stood at the top-most stair before the stairs disappeared into the 2nd floor and made my mom watch me as I showed her that I could curl my tongue. I had been practicing.
Another time I was sitting on the floor of the living room with two of my brothers. We were right in front of the tv - a clunker of a tv in a big wood entertainment center. They were playing nintendo and I was holding my blankie. I walked out to the hallway to use the downstairs bathroom. I flushed and then the toilet overflowed! That toilet overflowed all the time. Later my dad and some other people pulled out the toilet to try and fix the problem, and I think I remember they said there was a piece of carpet stuck in the hole.
One time my Nana bought me a snickers bar. I think that was the first time I ever had one. I sat at the kitchen table eating it. Our kitchen table had chrome chairs.
I sat backwards facing the wall on top of the toilet seat in my parent's bathroom. That's how I sat as my mom fixed my hair. I can't remember if I was telling her or just remembering about a dream I had. This is the first dream that I ever remember. It was like an old cowboy and Indian film. Black and white, just cowboys and Indians fighting. That's it.
There was a wood pile in the backyard. I used to go out there and sit and eat my snack. Apples and cheese.
My grandparents came to visit us. I was so excited to see my grandpa. My brother David and I went out behind our backyard where there was a giant honeysuckle bush. We took a bowl with us and picked lots of honeysuckle for him.
One year for Christmas, a friend of my parents dressed as Santa Claus came to visit our house! I'm sure I was wide-eyed and amazed. Especially since I can still remember it.
Speaking of Christmas, I loved those multi-colored, big-bulbed strings of lights my dad put on the bushes out front. They were my favorite. They don't make them like they used to.
It doesn't snow in Georgia. One night we were watching a movie as a family. I left the room to go to the kitchen to get a drink. On my way back I noticed that it was snowing outside! Turned out to be a blizzard. It was awesome.
I had a red sweatshirt with a green crocodile on it. I used to look at my reflection in the refrigerator door handles. I loved the way that sweatshirt looked in the reflection.
One day I had canned peaches. I threw them up in the kitchen sink.
We had a giant gray teddy bear named Humphrey. One of my brothers accidentally burned some of his fur off by sticking him on a bare light bulb.
We had a hamster named Skippy.
We used to eat fancy dinners in the dining room. I think we used to eat in there when we had the missionaries over, too.
One year we got a golf cart. I remember the smell and the cold floor of the garage as we all ran out to see it.
We also got a new van. A white Dodge Plymouth Voyager. I distinctly remember it pulling into the driveway. I guess I was sitting looking out the front window. We all went outside to listen to its awesome stereo. My mom kept cassette tapes in a little compartment in the console. Gloria Estefan was among the most played. The rhythm is gonna get you. I will always remember the way my mom rested her arm on the armrest in that van. I thought it looked so beautiful how her hand was resting limp off of her arm. I always copied it.
Two of my brothers shared a big room. One of my brothers choked on a lego in that room. Did we have a fold-out couch in the hallway where the computer was? Was there insulation on the walls with brown paper covering it? Nate was in there and I showed him a brown teddy bear once. He was a good big brother and pretended to care.
I have another dream I remember. I dreamed that we all had certain bedtimes and those bedtimes were written at the foot of our beds. 7:30 was on David's bed. That's all I remember.
I played with neighbor kids sometimes. I can't remember who they are now. But they had a fun playroom. We also had some church friends who lived across the street. They got ducks once. They also ate tiny pickles for lunch and watched that flying purple people eater show.
We babysat the little girl that lived in the house next to us. I remember going to see her for the first time as a newborn. She had dark hair. They had two cats. Their home smelled like cats. My parents still keep in contact a little bit. About 8 years ago the mom gave me her sewing machine and sewing table.
As I took afternoon naps I would watch the light on the walls. It would grow brighter and darker as the sun passed behind the clouds.
These are all memories from age 5 and younger.
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