Wednesday 28 November 2018

Did I?

Who else has noticed that their childhood memories are starting to get a bit... mushy?

Like, I was talking to someone about something and I went to tell a story from when I was a kid when I realized I wasn't 100% sure I was recalling the story accurately.  Or at all!  It wasn't anything major like "I SAW AN ALIEN!" or anything, it was more along the lines of "I climbed a big tree" and then thinking... did I?  Or did I just.. imagine I did?  Or did I only ever think about doing it?  And how can I ever be sure now?

I kept diaries off an on as a kid, but I don't have them anymore, and even if I did they'd not be terribly helpful for recollection.  Had I known I'd want to have accurate recollections, I would have tried to convince myself to write out the boring (to me) details of the day to day.  Like... we went for a drive in our (year, make, model) station wagon and ate at the White Spot drive in (I'm sure I did this) and came home and watched (name of tv show).  Because I don't remember a lot of stuff very well.  I could ask my parents what kind of station wagon it was but who knows if they'll remember either!  I'm pretty sure it had wood paneling but not made of wood, just looking like?  So little things like that.  It's a little bit sad, and I'm aware that if I wanted to, say, write a memoir right now I'm not sure how many of the stories would be for sure for sure "real" and "true".  Nevermind the fact that everything is subjective and all that, you know?

But, yeah, my childhood (and younger-person-hood) memories are not as crisp as I'd like them to be and I'm temped to write down the ones I do have, "true" or not, just so as not to lose them.

Life is weird.  Brains are weird.  Memories are weird.  Sometimes I can't even remember why I walked into the next room!

4 comments:

Elliott said...

1976 Chevy Caprice Estate wagon, dark blue with the fancy wood grain vinyl. The car was as big as boat. It had rumble seats in the very back that faced the backwards.

Took us all over southwestern Ontario for hockey. Probably every arena in every hick town. Good memories.

Victoria said...

Awesome! Yeah, my best memory from our station wagon was when we'd leave for camping trips, we'd leave so super early that my brother and I would just be put into the back area to sleep. I loved that boat of a car!

Elliott said...

My brother and I used to throw sleeping bags and pillows in the back and sleep on road trips. We'd put the second row of seats down so we could stretch out even with the hockey gear. I couldn't imagine doing that these days...but we survived unscathed with no seat belts.

Victoria said...

Right?