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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Curious-what are your earliest memories?

Ok, so I followed various links to an Anti-Gosselin site(Jon and Kate Plus Eight). I take it all with a grain of salt, a large one, knowing people's capacity for stretching the truth and outright lying to justify their positions. Generally I ignore that stuff as I find it has ruined my own viewing of the show a bit-I see things through the eyes of the detractors as well. But I've come to the opinion that they are a family trying to do their best to deal with all that's come their way, not just the two sets of multiples, but all the negatives of having a tv show and fame as well. It's ruined some family relationships, but that happens when you aren't on tv as well. They aren't perfect people and neither am I. Kate, the Mom, is apparently hard to get along with, but she has a lot of good qualities as well. I admire her organizational skills and her dedication to finding enriching activites and trips for her children. I think she's great at establishing traditions. And I love their family's attitude that they are in this together-they are a team.
This site claims to be neutral, but it's almost entirely negative stuff. On the post I have linked however, regarding all the traveling the family does, they pose the question: How much/what do you remember from when you were 2 years old or 3 years old or 4 years old??? Are the Gosselins truly "making memories"? For whom?
There are a surprising number of positive comments on that one, and I have to agree. I remember stuff from when I was at least two, possibly younger. Mostly just little flashes of stuff, fuller memories emerge about when I was four. I think that it is our job as parents to try to provide our children with as many happy memories as we are able (not saying we need to kill ourselves or our budget to do this, just to do as much as we can). There's no way they will remember everything, you can't pick and choose what they will remember, but if you fill them with happy family events, they're more likely to remember some of them. I don't think it's a bad thing for the parents to do it so they have happy family memories either. You put a lot of work into this parenting job, I think parents deserve to take happiness from the job also! Young kids' memories will be enhanced in the case of the Gosselins by looking at photo and having it all captured on video. That could jog their memories or help form them more strongly. I also think that sometimes the good that comes from a family outing may not be the memory you take away from it-I think there is plenty of short-term good that can come from it as well. A change of pace, seeing new things, experiencing new things-all that is fun and can positively affect their growing personalities.

Anyone care to comment on early memories?
Some of my random snippets:
*I remember pretending to be asleep and my Dad knowing I was pretending so he tickled me "awake."
*I remember going to the doctor when I cut my head open. I remember various scenes from that experience, particularly that I got to pick two cookies from a room with white cabinets for being such a good girl. I was very proud.
*I remember sitting on my Mom's lap in a rocking chair in a dark third floor room of our apartment when I had hives. I felt miserable.
*I remember being locked out of our apartment when we went to the store on my birthday. They had to call the police and they came and stuck a huge knife in the door to break it open.
* I remember going to the playground with my Mom and Aunt and cousins, and lots of scenes of playing at her house. I remember taking baths with my cousins there. She had bubble bath and lots of toys.
*I remember being in the car for many trips to my Aunts' houses. I got to get an orange soda, my favorite at the time.
*I remember playing tweetle-bugs with a neighbor boy at my Aunt's house when I was about four. We took a bus to my aunt's house and got there at night. The restaurant was closed, but they opened the doors to let us wait for my aunt and uncle to pick us up. We sat in the back of the station wagon and me and my cousin Betsy pretended that each little bump sent us flying. "Ouch! I hurt my boompter!" we giggled hysterically. I played with a barbie with yellow shoes on the bus, and lost one shoe at my aunt's house later. The bathroom had wooden shutters.

2 comments:

Jamie said...

I remember having chicken pox and having one pock (?) in particular on the top of my head and it gave me a terrible headache...everyone was in the kitchen eating jelly beans and i was so jealous! my mom said i was around 3.

I always think about what stuff jonathan will remember...i think its neat to see what stands out as a lasting memory. my brother remembers decorating an apartment we lived in for Christmas...he would've been around 3 also.

and jsyk, i'm not stalking your blog but you happened to have posted just as i was going through my reader articles! perfect timing!

Sue said...

I have memories of sitting in my highchair and my Nana tapping her red fingernails on the silver tray, I was about 2. I remember raiding my Nana's refrig of popsicles for the neighborhood, they never locked their doors, until that day, LOL.

I have good memories of my childhood in Palmer Township on Oakwood St. We were called the Oakwood Street Gang. We even had a clubhouse behind my grandparent's house in the Mark and Suzanne's garage. Such good memories I have. I can spend hours telling you all the good times we had back then.

My worst memories are when I had real bad earaches and would bang my head against the wall to relieve the pain. I had the mumps, chicken pox, and the measles all in first grade, right after each other. I hated living in a dark room with sunglasses on. I don't know if they were the German measles or what. I was a very sickly child growing up, until I got my tonsils taken out at the age of 10. No more earaches or sore throats.

Another bad memory was when I wanted to be a Brownie, well I was riding my bike and was run off the road by another kid riding his bike and I ended in a sticker bush. I had stickers all over me. After I got all the stickers out, we went to the meeting and was told I was too young, boohoo. The following year I didn't want to do it. There was another time when I was riding my bike down Oakwood St. while I was wearing flip flops. Well, let me tell you that was a very painful experience because my foot slipped off my pedal and my BIG toe scraped the road for a great distance. It was really bad, I thought I was going to lose the top of my toe. I can go on and on with good and bad memories of my childhood, because I remember so much of my childhood.