Friday Flashback

How far back can you remember?

This question is the source of debate in my family. I am convinced I can remember my christening. Not surprisingly, my mother disagrees.

I can remember crawling around on the floor in our kitchen. I can remember being held by our pastor. My mother contends that I only "remember" these things because I've seen pictures of them. I would agree with her, except for one thing: I don't remember these images as the pictures show them--I remember them from my perspective. I remember seeing the floor as I crawled around on it. I remember that our pastor smelled different from my parents. (You know how different homes have different smells--not necessarily bad, just different. I could write a whole post on smells. Maybe I will.)

I have other early memories tied to senses other than sight as well. For example, I can remember the taste of a finger in my mouth as said finger pushed some cake into it on my first birthday. (Again, there are pictures of this.)

Here's my theory: I tend to remember events because of the pictures. I've always looked at our family albums--even when I was very small. I think looking at these pictures at such a young age reinforced the memories I had, and helped me remember them long term.

But my earliest memory that is uncontested by family members is definitely the birth of my brother. I was 3 and a half. I remember my Dad carrying me to our neighbour's in the middle of the night. (Ok, it seemed like the middle of the night. I don't actually know what time it was , but I was three. Nine p.m. would have seemed like the middle of the night.) I remember being ecstatic that they gave me Cheerios for breakfast.

And here's everyone's favourite part: I remember my mother and brother coming home from the hospital. I remember my Granny standing at the top of the stairs calling me to come up. I remember telling them that I'd like to wait for a commercial--my favourite show The Cucumber Club was on. You can check out You Tube too see why I was so enthralled.

I don't think my brother ever forgave me for putting The Cucumber Club above his arrival.