Snapshots of My Childhood Memories (3 to 5 years old)
They say that a person starts to have memories of events in his life at three years old. Maybe it’s true. I have some snapshots of my childhood in my head, which now at almost 28 years old, are still vivid. And it’s weird I remember them so well… though I’m not sure if some of these are dreams. But I feel most are real. I don’t know the order of events, but I would just write whatever I remember.
I remember I was with Mama Kristin in a Church where there was a lot of people. And people started lining up at the aisle, she told me to stay put at the pew where we were seated, while she went to get communion. And when she left, I cried to the top of my lungs. And when she came back, she gave me half of the bread that was in her mouth. And I stopped crying. (So I guess the first communion ceremony at school when I was at Grade I was not my first communion after all.)
I remember that my cousin Patrick’s favorite TV show was Knight Rider, and we would watch it together – Pat, sitting on his father’s lap on the sofa; me sitting down the carpet nearer the TV. And during commercial breaks, Pat would go ride his “KITT” toy cart with the red lights lighting up from left to right and back at the bumper.
I remember being afraid of Uncle Greg, because of his very deep voice when he talks.
I remember Aunt Malou putting me on a diet, because the bullies at school tease me. Then, I was eating a raw carrot.
I remember Lola Gueling teaching me to write a letter to my Mom. When I wrote two words without a space in between, Lola tried to correct me, so I put a slash (/) in between the two letters, and Lola put her hand in her head saying “ay, nako! (oh, no!)” because I think I only made it worse. But after that she said, it was ok.
I remember a shallow swimming pool that was set up in a garden, and my little sister Jo Rose (who was maybe 2 or 3 yrs old at that time) and I were fighting over holding the water hose to fill up the pool. As the “ate” (older sister), I was always told to give way to my younger sis. So, I gave her the hose. Then, I went away the pool, hid behind the bend, picked up the hose, and I bent the hose. (I learned this trick from TV, that when you bend a water hose, the water would stop flowing.) And it worked! When the water stopped from flowing, little Jo Rose looked at the hole of the water hose. And as she put the hose to her face to see what happened, I let go of the bent hose… It was a success! A water burst to Jo Rose’s face! Hahaha… And she had no idea I did it. (Sorry, sis!)
I remember my bachelor uncle putting me to sleep one night, covering me with a blanket, while he was watching TV beside me. He thought I was already asleep, because I didn’t move. But, he caught me peeping under the blanket, and I think he had to turn off the TV… You know what I saw while peeping? – a community where all the people were walking naked. I think the movie was about something like Adam and Eve days…
I remember the morning after I was a flower girl at a wedding of one of my uncles, I was tasked to call my uncle and new aunt for breakfast. And when I entered their room, I felt embarrassed seeing them in their underwear. And I ran out of the bedroom at once. And I did not know why I felt embarrassed over that.
I remember somebody tucking me in bed (I don’t remember who in particular, but it was definitely not Mom) inside a bedroom on the second floor, where the windows were beside a road. And I watched the lights refracted to the ceiling when a car was passing by. I counted them until I fell asleep. I guess the room was a new place, because it took a while before I was able to fall asleep.
I remember when we came back to my Lola Angie’s house, almost everybody in the house was crying and hugging me tight, and there were a lot of stickers on the walls and doors saying “We love Caren”. Lola Angie was giving me a glass of milk, but I didn’t like the taste because it tasted different, too creamy, and it was almost light yellow in color. When I didn’t drink it, Lola Angie tried giving me a teaspoonful of the powder milk, and I didn’t like it either. I really didn’t like the taste of the powder milk in the yellow canister. I was wondering, how could it be milk when it was in powder form?
I know that I did not drink warm milk before going to bed when I was a child. I drank cold fresh milk in the mornings at breakfast. And my Papa did not know that until I resisted to drink the milk that my “Tita Tita” made for me that night. She was a very nice lady. She lent me a big peach night shirt with a big bear printed in the front. (I don’t know, but I guess I was not able to bring any of my clothes with me that night.) “Tita Tita” sang me lullabyes (which I was not used to), until I fell asleep. Then, when I woke up, I asked for the milk they were giving me last night, but it was already spoiled. But “Tita Tita” said she would just make a new one for me.
These are what I have as early memories, which I would tag as 3 to 5 (my age)… Of course there are a lot more that I remember from the time I celebrated my 6th birthday. And I think that marks a whole new chapter of my life as a child.
To my dearest Lola Gueling, I will miss you so much. I know you are looking after us from heaven. I love you.
