What was your first memory?

[Capnmad]

Read an interview of Haruki Murakami in NYT yesternight, and this question came up. Thought it was a good one. I'll go first:

Mine was my attempt to "run away from home". I don't remember much of it, except that I must have been all of about four or so and quite in a huff... I remember taking my little rocking chair -- why I thought this was such a vital item for eloping, I have no idea, save that I liked it, and I liked to have a nice place to sit and rock (apparently, I was already an old man at age four). And I dragged it along behind me, down the road, along the boundary with my family's property... I remember being on the right-hand side of the road -- likely because I wasn't allowed to cross the road yet... I had made it as far as the end of my family's property and was about to continue on, flanked by farmland, when my mom came by in the car and stopped me and brought me back. If I was punished, I don't recall, but I remember my near "escape". 🙂

Now it's your turn. What's your first memory?

 

[Bugman]

Curse you, sir, for taxing my increasingly faulty memory, but I'll have a go at it. When I was a child my parents had a chicken coop in the back yard. I was messing around in there one day and got a foot stuck in a wood pallet. Like you, I must have been all of four years old. My mother heard my cries for help and rescued me. It has been many years, or rather decades since I thought about that. Great thread Cap. 🙂

 

[Bothersome]

I tried to walk to the supermarket that was about 3 blocks away at the age of 4 and tried to pay for milk with no money.

I don't know what inspired any of it, but it's the earliest(and surprisingly clear) memory I have. I remember that the Skat Bus(The public transit around here) pulled over and a lady came out and picked me up. She recognized me and took me back home. I don't believe my mother was especially pleased.

 

[Persephone]

One of my earliest memories is from around the time I was three. There was an elderly lady who lived next door who never had any children of her own but loved all the kids in the neighborhood. She always invited us over to her kitchen for lemonade and peanutbutter sandwiches. She was in a wheelchair by this point (she was 97 when she died...and I was around 3 1/2 when she died). I remember her kitchen had a checkered floor, yellow walls, and white lace curtains. I just remember her in her wheelchair, rolling to the fridge to make me a glass of chocolate milk since I didn't like lemonade when I was younger. She was very kind, I remember her giving me a sandwich on a pink plate too 🙂

 

[TropicThunder]

I have a very distinct memory of being a baby, which people always tell me is impossible, but I remember it. It wasn't much.

I remember being the living room in front of the TV next to my older sister. It was one of those old wooden boxed televisions, that only had two dials on the side. My mom was vacuuming by the front door, and I remember crawling from the TV to the base of the vacuum cleaner and climbing on top of it. Then my mom picked me up and put me back in front of the TV again. I remember the ribbons on my dress, and that the carpet was that horrid blue that got taken out sometime when I was a kid.

 

[Snail Shell]

I remember a contest to see who was tallest at daycare one day. I lost.

SS

 

[goddess_nemesis]

My first memory was of my cousin and my brother's joint baptism; I was three years old at the time. I vaguely remember the church and playing on the steps that led up to the pulpit after the service was over.

 

[Mitchell]

I dont recall how old I was, but it had to be have been before I was 3, because I moved out of the building I'm about to describe in this post at age 3.

The first building we lived in, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, from the time I was born, until fall 1973, when we moved, had lights on top of the outside of the building. I distinctly remember looking up at those lights, and calling them, "The Finkels", whatever the hell that meant. I dont recall anything about the apartment we lived in itself, just "The Finkels".lol.

Its crazy what children come up with sometimes.

Mitch

 

[GQguy]

I have a few faint memories from being 2 or so. My first REAL memory was a pretty traumatic one though. I was 3 because my mom was pregnant at the time. My dad beat up my mom. Crazy how much detail I can remember. The way the sun shone, time of day what my dad was wearing...what my mom was wearing and most importantly how I felt. It's funny being the 3 year old yet the only one fully conscious (mom passed out and dad left, 2 year old bro was hysterical) mentally recording the whole thing. Too young to even know to call for help. Sad times.

Things are better though!!

GQ

 

[TickleMyFancy]

I used to have a thing for sleeping with my head at the foot of the bed when I was reaaaally little, like 1 1/2 or 2. My earliest memory is my mom coming into my room and picking me up and flipping me so my head was on the pillow again. And then as soon as she left the room, I switched again. 🙂

Random and fun to remember 🙂

 

[Skipadeedoodah]

My earliest memory is from when I was around 3. My mom had left my dad and took my sisters and I to live with my grandparents. Of course I didn't realize this at the time. I thought we were just on an extended visit. Anyway, one night, I woke up and saw a light on in the kitchen. I walked out and saw my mom sitting at the kitchen table in her robe and nightgown eating Cheetos out of the big clear plastic tupperware things my grandparents put snacks in to keep them fresh. I walked over to her, and I remember being really surprised and happy that instead of shooing me back to bed she asked if I wanted to have a midnight snack, and let me hang out with her for a while. I don't remember talking about anything specific. She was probably sitting thinking about my dad and our family, and I was just sitting there thinking about how exciting it was to be doing something as taboo as waking up in the middle of the night, STAYING awake, and having a typically forbidden midnight snack, all with my mother's blessing. 😛

 

[TickleMyFancy]

My earliest memory is from when I was around 3. My mom had left my dad and took my sisters and I to live with my grandparents. Of course I didn't realize this at the time. I thought we were just on an extended visit. Anyway, one night, I woke up and saw a light on in the kitchen. I walked out and saw my mom sitting at the kitchen table in her robe and nightgown eating Cheetos out of the big clear plastic tupperware things my grandparents put snacks in to keep them fresh. I walked over to her, and I remember being really surprised and happy that instead of shooing me back to bed she asked if I wanted to have a midnight snack, and let me hang out with her for a while. I don't remember talking about anything specific. She was probably sitting thinking about my dad and our family, and I was just sitting there thinking about how exciting it was to be doing something as taboo as waking up in the middle of the night, STAYING awake, and having a typically forbidden midnight snack, all with my mother's blessing. 😛

D'AWWWW!

 

[milagros317]

My first memory is of eating in a Chinese restaurant at age four. I don't remember what I ate.

 

[fireguardian]

Hmm. I have two memories from around the same time that tend to stand out.

The first was when we were living on the base and shopping in the commissary. When my mom wasn't looking I wandered off to grab some marshmallows. I grabbed the biggest bag I could find and tried to sneak it into the cart. When my mom caught me she made me put it back. I pouted and slowly walked back and when i went to go back to her I had lost her. Now I was little. I panicked and starting running through the commissary crying and yelling 'Mommy.' I mostly got ignored since they all answered to that and I wasn't their kid. One lady finally stopped me and took my to the front so they could report a lost child. I was sobbing at this point and my mom comes up and is laughing and shaking her head. After she hugged me and calmed me down she told me that she had never left the aisle we had been in and I had walked right past her. Only about three and I had my first dope moment.

The second one is of being at my grandparents house and my grandfather picking me up by my ankles and holding me upside down. He would swing me back and forth singing a little song he made up and calling me Tick Tock Tina. It was one of my favorite games.