Thursday, July 8, 2010

I Remember...

I remember the flannel sheets on my childhood bed---rows of farm animals and picket fences.
I remember the summer we had a soda machine stocked with Shasta for 25 cents.
I remember the time I poured a Shasta fruit punch on my neighbor Richard and he fruit punched me right in the face.
I remember that Richard got in trouble more than I did.
I remember playing kickball in the street with the crowd of neighborhood kids when the sun went down and there was no threat of school tomorrow.
I remember the summer I watched M*A*S*H every night with my brother John.
I remember driving with my dad to California for a relative's funeral. I had just turned sixteen and he let me drive for hours and hours.
I remember when my mom was going through menopause and how badly I wanted her to return to her normal self, to return to us.
I remember going to B&D burgers with my church friends and our coach after a ball game. I wrote a silly poem on a napkin. My coach read it and said, "You're a writer!"
I remember thinking, "I am?"
I remember asking my sister Leslie to borrow her clothes.
I remember her mostly saying no.
I remember wishing I had clothes that she would want to borrow to give me a little leverage.
I remember thinking that leverage would help in a lot of things.
I remember playing Mario Brothers for hours at my friend Robyn's house.
I remember watching Saved by the Bell at every opportunity, even though I swore it was the stupidest show on TV.
I remember memorizing the phone numbers of friends.
I remember the cracks in the cement in our driveway.
I remember Magnum P.I., The A-Team, MacGuyver, and Remington Steele, the shows we watched with my dad.
I remember the deliciousness of ramen noodles.
I remember cleaning the house on Saturday mornings.
I remember the view from the roof of our house and the grip of the shingles under my feet.
I remember the epic messes I made in my bedroom and not knowing where to start to clean them up.
I remember bossing around my little brothers and secretly wishing they liked me.
I remember waiting for phone calls on Wednesdays or Thursdays from neighbors needing babysitters on Friday or Saturday night.
I remember the cool, dark basement and our first fat black TV remote control.
I remember examining the bump on my nose for hours in the bathroom mirror and wishing it away.
I remember my sister April's room, a forbidden land with dark wood paneling. Sometimes I'd sneak in and stand there, just to see what it was like.
I remember getting my period. I was horrified and hoped for a speedy death.
I remember cramps.
I remember our stackable kitchen chairs with chrome trim and brown woven upholstery.
I remember my mom's 9 x 13 metal pan with the sliding lid, our family name written in permanent marker.

What do you remember?

20 comments:

Hil said...

I love this post, as with all of your posts.

I remember sneaking into Summer Dickamore's (yes that was her name) garage with spoons in hand to eat a gallon tub of play-dough ice cream. It took us a few days of doing this, but we eventually finished it off. And people think growing boys eat a lot...

Alyssa said...

I love this!

Heather said...

I think everyone's childhood kitchen is filled with casserole dishes and serving utensils and tupperware all bearing a last name in black magic marker. Ours said Del J. because there were just way too many Johnsons in our church, but only one Del...

Hildie said...

We had stackable BLUE chairs. Those tacky things!

Lindy-Lou said...

That 9X13 pan with the sliding lid is full of good stuff right now and sitting on a shelf in the pantry, taunting me.
Sorry about being a monster for awhile. It wasn't fun for me either.

Annie said...

i remember when my mom thought she was pregnant...at 43. i think it was just the start of the menopause thing. like my mom said, just wait til its your turn!

Leslie said...

I'm sorry. You can borrow anything you want, but you definitely have the cuter wardrobe!

Sarah said...

When I was in college I was remembering the deliciousness of Ramen Noodles and then bought it and was disappointed. Darn.

Angie said...

Good, good post. Did that kid really punch you in the face? Not ok.

Christy said...

Ooooo, I enjoyed this so much! It brought back a lot of memories.

Kelly S. said...

I remember the way my elementary school smelled. On the first day of school it was strange and familiar at the same time. And I remember a time when I thought my parents could solve all the problems in the world (at least my small 9 year old world.) And I remember phones with cords. With no caller ID and no redial and no directory. And I remember being able to prank call people. I did this for hours. You really can't prank call anymore, can you.

Kari said...

I loved this post so much! It made me think of so many things "I remember" I ended up doing a whole post. Thanks for prompting me to think of things I haven't thought of in years!

kami @ nobiggie.net said...

I remember summer movies. Our moms would drop us off at the old movies on Fort Union and we would see movies like "Digby the biggest Dog in the world". A drink, small popcorn & a candy were all included in the summer movie package. It was a cheap babysitter for our moms. ;)

Travelin'Oma said...

I remember prank calling someone from the phone book named Tom McKay. I faked a southern accent and said to his wife, "Hi. This is Roxanne. Tell Tommy thanks for everything." I was twelve.

Jesse C said...

This is fantastic.

I remember sitting in the living room with mom and watching Summer thunder storms through the big glass windows.

Dede said...

Great post.

I remember setting up a table in the hall with a tablecloth and flowers. Then, my sister and I would put on our Sunday dresses, sit at the table and eat Ramen. We pretended to be in a fancy restaurant.

I also remember sleeping over at my grandparents and my sister throwing up on me several times because they kept it too hot.

I remember in sixth grade calling boys and doing "rating tests". A rating test is when you say a girls name and they rate that girl 1-10. I know...weird. We were in sixth grade.

Omgirl said...

I remember wishing away the bump on my nose too. And then I remember paying for it to be removed!

I also remember the same awe of sneaking into my big sister's forbidden room, and then trying on her fancy Victoria's Secret bras even though I had half the chest she did.

Great post!

Mia said...

I remember spilling nail polish remover on my mom's sideboard and her heart break when she found out.

I remember 6 months later when she was invited to a formal Christmas party with my dad; her mom bought her a beautiful new dress for the event. I was so in love with that dress and begged to wear it for our Christmas play where I was the narrator. I remember her cutting the tags off and grabbing present ribbon so she could take the adult sized dress and cinch it up to fit me for my play.

I remember when my parents would leave us at home with my brother babysitting and we would turn the radio up full blast and dance around the living room.

Shua said...

Dang. I miss Grandma and Grandfather's old house.

tiburon said...

I remember my sister making me ride home in the trunk of the car from the local convenience store.

And slamming on the brakes for every rock in the road.

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