Friday, July 31, 2009

Memory lane

Sleep was elusive again last night. I was very tired, but my mind wouldn't shut down to allow me to get some much-needed rest. Instead it presented a slide show of early memories. My very first memory: Christmas when I was about three years old, a puppy (named Peanuts?) and a golden-coloured rocking chair.

Click to the next slide. My first memory of my sister: Her and I sitting at the kitchen sink at our neighbours on Brander Avenue, excitedly creating tie-dyed undershirts. Mine was purple, hers green.

We moved from that house when I was five years old, but I remembered its entire layout, the pink, plastic swing secured with yellow string to the tree in the backyard, the giant sunflowers crowding the garden behind the garage and playing contentedly with a kitchen set in the hallway outside my bedroom upstairs.

Click. Camping at Cyprus Lake with family friends, swimming in the clear lake and the five kids sharing one double bed in the pop-up trailer.

Click. Going to see the house my parents were building in the country - the place where I grew up. My mind holds 14 years of memories from it, its huge yard, the creek flowing behind it and the orchard next door. I remember building forts with Angie in our bedroom, swimming for countless hours in the creek, consuming the not-quite-ripe pears in the orchard and the red velvet wallpaper in the living room (it was the 70s).

Click. My dad playfully flicking something (leftover gravy? cranberry sauce?) one too many times at my mom while they were doing the dishes and her chasing him out the backdoor. Much laughing ensued and the leftover substance ended up on the ceiling of the kitchen. My dad used to be quite the joker, stirring up hilarious trouble regularly.

Click. Click. Click.

I feel I'm 80 years old, recounting the experiences of my past. I urge to sit down and recall the photographs stored in my mind. Is that what a brush with mortality does?

Maybe remembering my experiences validates them, validates my life. But only my life so far.

I hope I have many, many more years to create photographs to add to the scrapbook of my life so when I am 80, I can share the memories with my grandchildren.

Tina

4 comments:

  1. What about playing Star Trek at Grandma and Grandpas, you, always Captain Kirk! Playing Hardy Boys and discovering a mattress down your country road, 50 cent gifts, writing notes to our parents to "beg" them to let Monica and me sleep over, playing restaurant, apartment, army; memorizing "Bosom Buddies" episodes;modelling shoot at Christmas with our new clothes (and why did we weild a knife in one of those pics?) writing our novel disguising our high school crushes within the pages,('bring, bring!')and excitedly reading it on the bus to the Pines; high school dances; "camping" in your backyard with some beverages; working at IGA; Honeymoon Suite concert... all great slides to add to the memorybook! I am so glad I have been able to share these memories with you! Love you lots!!!!! Margie

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  2. All good memories, Margie. I think you, me and Angie will have to sit down at Thanksgiving with a few beverages and share stories. It'd be good if we could pull out some photos too - especially that knife one (?)!

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  3. Oh my....you have a ton of memories from University....let's see.... what about swimming laps in our pool....or throwing toothbrush from our balcony into the trees, only to discover in the fall that it was a graveyard.... What about being hit with shoes at the Black Tie Ball? What about our wild parties in our apartment? Singing answering messages on our machine....or DAYTONA BEA-H!!! LOL!! Wading in the water fountain....etc, etc.... What a blast!! Lots of memories and good times!!

    Walking during the TTC strike and hitch-hiking to work???

    MY OH MY....

    Those were the days!!

    Love ya

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  4. Love all the reminders of crazy memories! Last night's, for some reason, only included very early ones. It's like my mind is working my way through a process. It'll take years of sleepless nights to get through them all. But I love the sharing.

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