Early Child Memories – 3-5 continued
I had planned to write about memories from ages 5 to 7 but I remembered two more things from ages 3 to 5 so here they are.
The first set of memories is about a family reunion that occurred on my Mom’s side of the family when I was 3 1/2. The reunion was in Los Angeles California, at my great uncles house. He must have been doing very well as I remember walking in and being amazed at how big the first room was. I saw a curving staircase coming down with a banister that I really wanted to slide down at some point. Think of the entry way for the Beverly Hillbillies mansion and you will have an idea of what the front room looked like, at least the way I remembered it. I had seen some show or heard in a story about sliding down a banister so I wanted to try that. I don’t remember if I did slide down but I certainly remember wanting to.
The next memory from that trip is of being at Disneyland with a group from the family. I wanted to ride on several of the rides but the adult in charge kept saying no, I suspect because of the long lines. I’ve been told that we finally did get to ride something but I don’t remember that part, just how I wanted to ride something and how I kept being told no.
The last memory from that trip is from the motel room we were staying at. We were getting ready to leave and I was determined to make the bed because I had been taught to do that every morning. My Mom had told me to not bother, someone else would make the bed. I looked at her puzzled and at least pulled the covers up over the sheets. I felt I had to do something and that felt like a good compromise with my Mom telling me that I didn’t need to.
The other memory or set of memories is from preschool, which I attended when I was four. I sort of remember the first day of going into this big room, with tables that were my size. The tables had different things on them, like books or games. There was a big set of windows on the north wall that filled the room with a lot of light. I vaguely remember other kids being there but I don’t remember them very well. I remember the teacher, a lady that was probably in her 30’s, in a dress, with her hair done up. I remember being a little worried about being left but I got over it quickly. That seemed to be a part of my childhood, I never seemed to be too bothered to be away from home for sleepovers or traveling by myself.
The other memory of preschool is of a craft project we did. We were told about it early in the year and I was always very excited coming to preschool as I waited for my turn. The project was to build an airplane out of two pieces of wood and then paint it. As part of the project, when it was our turn we got to watch someone cut the wood and then we were allowed to nail it together. I loved to put things together and this would allow me to build something brand new so it seemed very neat. I also remember how it seemed to take forever before it was my turn. I now realize that since my maiden name started with S and that they were going in alphabetical order it was going to take a while to get to me but at the time I kept hoping at each class that it would be my turn.
Finally, it was my turn to go and get the wood cut. I remember standing outside and waiting as the man cut the wood for me. He handed me the two pieces and it was so cool to finally hold the wood. I don’t really remember nailing the wood together but I remember selecting the color blue to paint the wood with. Don’t remember what happened to my airplane but certainly enjoyed putting it together after the very long wait for my turn.