Here are some more of these childhood memories from when I was very young. They are still appearing randomly, as brief flashbacks in my mind.
A young woman, or perhaps a girl, is dangling a thick plait or pigtail close to my face. I think I am in a pram, looking up. Her hair is very dark, and this feels like a memory I have had previously. But this time, I reach up and grab the thick hair. I can sense how big it is in my tiny hand, and actually feel the weave of the plait in my fingers.
I am sitting on a floor. It is simple wooden floorboards, painted black. I can see the heads of old nails in the corners of the wood. I move across to a threadbare rug, to retrieve a wooden toy car. As I grab it, it moves further away, and I have to follow it until it is stopped by the leg of a chair.
My dad is watching television. Something happens to make him jump up and shout out loud. That startles me as I am playing, but then I smile because he is happy.
(I think this must have been a football match, but can’t be sure. My dad bought a TV in 1953, when I was one year old.)
Walking awkwardly toward my mum. Her arms are outstreched, as if to catch me. She is kneeling on the floor, and wearing her glasses. I feel myself falling, and then she scoops me up into her arms.
An older female friend or relative arrives in the room. She is wearing a fur coat, and smells very strongly of perfume. She reaches down, picks me up easily, and kisses me. The softness of the fur is the first sensation, then I sneeze because of the perfume, and everyone laughs.
In an unfamiliar bed, and feeling incredibly, unbearably hot. I look to my right and see my mum sitting in a chair next to the bed. Her eyes are red and swollen, and she looks different. She turns to someone I can’t see and says, “He’s awake”.
You have a good memory. I couldn’t tell you what my earliest memories are! I can barely remember what I was doing 5 years ago lol.
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I used to recall most things from when I started school at the age of five. These earlier memories are recent, and quite startling.
Best wishes, Pete.
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These detailed recollections are so immersive. I am really enjoying these posts. Your writing encapsulates the moments so perfectly that a reader really feels that your memory is being replayed for them on big screen!
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Thank you for your nice comment. These are very new to me, something I have not previously experienced. I can only think it might be my age, but whatever the reason, I am finding those brief moments really fascinating. They play in my mind like seconds of an old newsreel. At first, I was concerned that they might be something medical, or the onset of dementia. Then I decided to stop worrying.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Wishing you all the good health, Pete. Hopefully, it is nothing. I think writers jog and explore their thoughts so much that they end up digging up detailed memories. What with the pandemic, self-exploration is hitting new levels. Just a theory! Have a nice day!
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Such detailed and intimate memories Pete. I have none of these in my possession. Sometimes I remember a random detail from my youth but I have a sister who can help me process the memory in the larger context. Warmly, C
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These are something new to me. I found them disturbing at first, but I have come to find them fascinating. Hoping for more.
Best wishes, Pete.
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You have a great memory, Pete! I am only remembering some moments, but not whole happenings. xx Michael
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These new memories are very short, and last just a few seconds. I am enjoying them though.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Reblogged this on OPENED HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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I can only remember a few things from a very young age….I wonder if some will come back in a few years??
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That seems to be what is happening to me. I did wonder if I should be worried by this, but decided to just relish the experience instead.
Best wishes, Pete.
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😊
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Wow Pete that last one is intense!
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My mum told me years ago that I was ‘given up for dead’ with Scarlet Fever. I told her I had no recollection of it at all. Then last month, this. I could feel the heat, albeit momentarily.
Best wishes, Pete.
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It is fascinating to read the various comments re people’s memories. I am puzzled about why now. And I read that you were puzzled and briefly worried too. What has triggered these memories? Why now? I have almost always had memories of the past as I’ve moved through life. Just different memories at different times. I think I repress some events I don’t want to remember.
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What mainly puzzled me is that before last month, all my ‘real’ memories seemed to only start after the age of five. Starting school appeared to be the beginning of childhood memories for me. Then last month, I started to experience these much earlier ‘flashbacks’. They are momentary, but unforgettable, and to some extent, they are also overwhelming. They include the sense of touch and smell, so seem remarkable to me, Janet.
I can only think it is something to do with my age. (I will be 70 next March) It is as if my brain has released a ‘time-lock’, and allowed those memories to come flooding out.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Wow, that last memory! He’s awake! My earliest memory is at the age of 2, riding in the back of a police car, seeing the gun through the crack from the backseat and wondering if I was going to be shot. My 3 yr old friend and I had gone for a walk downtown and gotten lost.
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That’s an early memory for you, Susanne. I can imagine that a ride in a police car at that age is something never forgotten.
(I am sure the last one relates to when I was critically ill in hospital with Scarlet Fever. My mum had told me about that many years ago, but I couldn’t recall any of it until last month.)
Best wishes, Pete.
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I seem to remember the more dramatic events from my childhood which makes sense. I think our brain needs to keep enough room for the important stuff and discard the mundane.
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My earliest memories used to be those after I started school, aged five. These older ones have just apopeared as flashbacks recently, and they seem amazing to me at my age now.
Best wishes, Pete.
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What a treat! Enjoy them while they last!
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Awww, the last one is probably when you were ill and your mom was worried…it is sad and beautiful, both at the same moment
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Thanks very much, dear Shaily.
I think it relates to when I had Scarlet Fever as a small child.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Oh, I hope these don’t stop. My earliest is about the age of three.
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Before this started recently, I didn’t have much recall of anything before the age of five. I wasn’t even thinking of anything similar, when these ‘flashbacks’ began to happen.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Lucky you!
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fascinating that you can remember sensations so young. My first memories were when I was three or four. I did not think it possible to remember before then. Your Scarlet Fever..how old were you?
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I was never able to remember this far back until this year, Cindy. It has come as something of a shock, though a pleasant one. I think I was possibly two years old when I had scarlet fever. I remember my mum telling me about how I nearly died. I was in my twenties then, and told her I had no memory of it. She said I was too young to remember.
Until last month, she was right.
Best wishes, Pete. x
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Actually, this is very cool.
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You seem to be having those memories frequently. It’s good though isn’t it when you remember them vividly.
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They come and go in batches, Arlene. Because they are so startling and unusual, they are easy to remember.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Nice and happy memories, Pete.
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Mostly good ones so far too. They make me feel content, Robbie.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I suppress most of my memories there are too many that are not good for me to remember….interesting memories indeed. chuq
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These just appear, and last merely a moment. Something new that I have not experienced previously. I am finding it interesting, chuq.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Sounds like the mind working brilli8antly chuq
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You are lucky to be enjoying these really early memories.
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I feel lucky, Mary. They have come out of nowhere, and appear completely at random.
Best wishes, Pete
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I am worried your brain is leaking! 🙂
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I did wonder at first, and looked up whether it was a symptom of a brain tumour!
Best wishes, Pete.
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I don’t have many memories from back then, you are so lucky…
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I do feel lucky, even more so as they have appeared very late in life, and I might never had known about them. I hope they don’t suddenly stop.
Best wishes, Pete.
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You do have early ones. Warmest regards,Theo
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Only very recently. I am finding it quite exciting, I confess.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Do you try; and, are they primary or secondary memories? Warmest regards, Theo
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Small moments that pop into my mind, mostly when I am out walking around with Ollie. I don’t actually to remember anything. Except phone numbers! 🙂
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I can hardly remember anything at all from my early childhood. Sometimes it’s difficult to know because most of the things I seem to remember are related to pictures from that time, so I’m never sure if I’m truly remembering or it is something I’ve been told. Yours sound very vivid. Thanks, Pete!
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This is all new to me, Olga. It only started recently, appearing like very short film clips from my time as a baby/toddler. I find it fascinating, and really relish the strangeness of the experience.
Best wishes, Pete.
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You can remember things from quite an early age! I can only remember from the age of about 3 onwards. It’s good to re-visit memories.
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It was the same for me until recently. Stevie. Now those memories ar rushing into my mind, and making me excited and happy to have them. I cannot explain it though.
Best wishes, Pete.
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These remind me of my own memories as a child.
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That’s nice, Pejj. Glad you have them too. This is all very new to me.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Funny how we get such brief snippets. I remember my Mum’s knee giving out in the middle of Earl’s Court Road. I was frightened, so I ran to the pavement!
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At least you didn’t run into the road, Carolyn. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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My mother was not pleased I abandoned her!
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You were feeing very hot – you must have been very very sick and your mother was distraught, thinking you might die.
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I am sure this must relate to when I was in hospital with Scarlet Fever, Janet. I was told about that years ago by my mother, but this was the first-ever memory of it. I could feel the heat. I remember telling her I had no recollection of it, and she was sure I was too young at the time to remember it. I think I was only around two years old when it happened, so remembering it now is fascinating to me.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Scarlet fever was so dangerous years ago. I have (had) an older brother and 2 older sisters. For them Scarlet Fever was a real threat. They were born in the mid 1920’s
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I was born in 1952, and it was still a killer back then.
Best wishes, Pete.
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You were feeling incredibly, unbearably hot because the girl with the pigtails thought you were a sexy baby.
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That explains it, David. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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