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| Memory Lane by Leo Saumure |
What is your earliest memory?I can actually think of four very early memories, and none of them are very pleasant, which makes sense as strong memories are the ones that tend to stick out in your mind. Instead of sharing all four, I will simply focus in what I believe to be my first memory.
The first memory I always think of, when I delve back into early memories is one about my maternal grandfather being injured.
When I was very young, many of my mom's immediate family lived a very short distance from each other, in Kemptville, Ontario. I think, if I remember this detail right, we all lived within four houses of each other, as well as having a cousin that lived across the street and down the road. I'm not sure if this was by design, or the town of Kemptville simply had a land grab, but if memory served, this is how I remember the housing configuration. My Aunt Leona, my godmother, and someone I have many-many fond memories of, lived just a couple houses down from us in one direction, whereas my Grandmother and Grandfather lived only one house away in the other direction (I might be remembering this detail wrong, but that is what comes to mind).
As we all lived very close to each other, I would often wander off from home and spend quite a bit of time at my godmother's or my grandparent's house; these were the days of kids having much more freedom and autonomy than they do now in the days of helicopter parenting. I guess at that time, we lived in a fairly rural part of a very small town, and the only real danger that I may have been in would have been a cow or pig attack.
At the time of this memory, I believe I was only four years old, and was quite a precocious child.
Really? You?
I know! Who'd of thunk it!
Anyway, I guess my Grandfather found me endearing, and from everything my mother has told me about this time in my life, I had a very special relationship to my Grandfather. Of the few remaining memories I have of him, I remember that he didn't often speak English (if at all), and I remember him being quite frail. In fact, not long after this incident, Grandpa had passed away from Cancer.
Here is the incident as I remember it: One day, while at Granpa's house, I was sitting in his chair, while he was walking away down the hall way. I don't remember if where he was going, but I have a vague memory that he was going to take a nap. It was at that moment where he tripped and caused a door which was ajar in the hallway, to fall on top of him. Judging by his reaction, the door was very heavy because it eventually caused him to collapse. I remember the way he tried to keep the door from falling over, but he slowly was losing the battle, and ever so slowly, bit by bit, he was getting pinned under the weight of the door until he finally collapsed and slumped down under the door's weight. I remember my Grandmother, rushing out of her chair to go and help him.
I don't recall if this cause him much long lasting harm, but the incident seems to be forever painted in my memory.
There are a few other early memories that I can recall such as taking my father's sleeping pills at four years old, an incident regarding my tonsillectomy, as well as me killing baby chickens by loving them too much.
If you're interested in hearing any of these memories, simply leave a comment on the blog, in Facebook, or Google Plus.
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