Triggering Childhood Memories

I was sitting in church today, listening to the lesson and my mind wandered, as a result of something the preacher said. I thought back to my childhood, about certain things that I remember. I tried to remember what my first memories were and how old I was at the time.

I remember things from when I was two years of age, but I only remember tiny bits and pieces. I know this because I remember my grandpa and he died a couple of weeks before my third birthday. I have good, happy memories of my grandpa, but who wouldn't at that age? I remember him specifically coming through the door of his house and sitting in his chair, which sat next to the door. He would call me and my cousin over and sit each of us up on his knees. Then he would pull out a piece of blue Freedent gum and give to us. I remember that memory so well because I wasn't allowed to chew gum yet at home, but Grandpa always gave us gum. Another memory I have of my grandpa is of him making my cousin and I Uncle Ben's rice. He would add butter, cinnamon, and sugar, and we loved it. The only other memory I have of him is seeing him standing there in his brown jacket, smiling. He had a big, pretty smile. I think I remember him smoking a pipe, too, but I could be wrong about that.

Anyway, my mind was drifting back to early childhood memories and I thought about my favorite church song when I was a child. It is "Mansions Over The Hilltop." The reason I loved that song so much is because of what the words said, or rather, what I thought they said. I must have been three or four years old at the time. I remember hearing that song and during the chorus when it says, "...but walk the streets that are purest gold," I remember as a very young child, picturing a golden city. I pictured a huge swing set made of gold, everyone laughing and running, and running up and down a road similar to the yellow brick road on the Wizard of Oz. This provoked another memory of a church song. When I was about six, my dad was leading the songs at church and he sang, "Low in the Grave He Lay." I thought we were singing, "Low in the Gravy Lay." I started laughing and asked my mom, "Why was Jesus in the gravy, Mom?" She said, "What?" I said, "It said he was laying in the gravy. Why was he laying in the gravy?" I was picturing him rising up out of a huge pool of gravy.

It's funny which things we remember from childhood and how vivid we remember them, even as adults. Occasionally, something will be said that will trigger a little piece of a memory from twenty or thirty years ago that I hadn't even thought of since. The mind is an amazing thing. We never know what things our children will remember in adulthood. Therefore, it is important that we try to fill their childhood with happy, pleasant memories, as much as possible. This doesn't mean that we cannot discipline our children or be afraid to disappoint them. It is good for them to learn disappointments in life and to be disciplined when they misbehave. If we do not teach them, they will not learn and think of what type of adults they will become! However, try to spend time with your children. Take them to their grandparents' homes or to visit family and friends that they enjoy being around and make them happy. Take them to the park and run and play with them, like a child. Hopefully your child will remember the happy times, your smile, their grandparents, things they learned at Bible class, and other things that will help make them a well-rounded, happy adult.