My oldest memory is at about 3 years old. My younger brother is adopted and I can still picture the living room at the foster home he was staying at where we visited him a few times before bringing him home. Most other preschool memories were reinforced by photographs and stories like the time I broke my arm ice-skating when I was 3. But what I know to be a true memory is going to tumbling class sometime in the next few weeks and being upset I couldn't participate.
Interestingly the kinds of things I remember from my early elementary are details like how I got to school. (We moved from there after 1st grade.) I can picture the K & 1st grade classroom but none of the kids, except the one I kept in touch with as a pen-pal with for years. I could still draw you a map of the path I walked to school. The layout of the park we lived next to, where was the pond and what playground equipment was there. The layout of the house & furniture we lived in at the time.
As to things that I remember being framed wrong. I have a very strong memory of being frightened that when my dad went out on a Saturday he was going to fight in the way for the day. (The Vietnam war) In reality he was probably working overtime, I understood he went to work on weekdays. And somewhere under 7 I decided that quarks were the "empty spaces in a cork". My dad worked in high energy physics, and it was a term I had clearly picked up. And I remember inventing the Big Bang in the back of our station wagon on one long car ride and being disappointed when I'd found out I wasn't the first person to come up with the idea.
And throwing the cat in the pond as a preschooler. I defiantly remember wondering if cats could swim, and deciding to try and experiment. (The can never trusted me after that.)
Last edited by bluemagic; 01/28/15 04:15 PM.
