Memories are a strange thing when you think about it. They sometimes come and go, sometimes they hide from us. Of course, there are the ones we don't remember at all.
I've often looked at pictures of myself when I was a baby and thought , "I don't remember that", "why can't I remember"?
Before we are born, we had no idea if we existed somewhere else because we can't remember. We are born and can't remember the event. We look at baby pictures and can't remember, but know it's us in the picture.
From before birth until around 4 or 5 we have no memory. Usually by that age we can start storing memories that will last a lifetime.
Why can't we remember as far back as birth? It appears no one knows for sure, but there are several theories.
One theory is "infantile amnesia". Sigmund Freud suggested memories are repressed due to their sexual and traumatic nature. The scientific world today rejects this idea.
Another theory, explains it as not having any language skills. The thought behind this is, if there are no language skills, we cannot form any memories. Not sure science backs this up either.
There is the theory, we can't remember our first years because our brains had not developed the necessary equipment. Still only a theory.
In response to Eric Vance Walton's Steemit Blockchain Memory Project, I'll share some of my earliest memories.
It's of living in a little white house my parents bought not long after they married. My dad would work at his job, come home and work on remodeling the house. Mom had quit her job as a telephone operator when I came along, so she was a full time mother and housewife.
I remember the first black and white TV we ever owned and getting to watch cartoons on it. My uncle who had just immigrated from Italy would come to our house and switch the channel to cowboy shows, which made me scream and cry!
I loved to ride in the car when I was little. It was a big thrill and I also loved to pretend I was driving.
I had three good friends when we lived on 6th street. We were the four musketeers and ran up and down that street playing all day long. Together we learned to skate, play hide and seek, and jacks!
In those days, parents didn't worry about children outside playing and even walking to the store with other kids.
Memories fade, so I can only remember the name of one of those girls.
We moved from 6th street when I was six and I never saw them again. The only thing left is the picture. So sad!
On Sunday, we would dress up, go to church, then the grandparents for lunch. Sunday afternoons were for driving to different friends for visiting. It was the same ritual every Sunday and never varied.
Those are my earliest childhood memories from age 3 to 6. I'm surprised these memories haven't disappeared after all the years that have passed! I'm so glad they are still there!
Hope you enjoyed this memory article and will join us with your own memories!
Remember,
Keep on the Sunnyside!
Photo # 1 Source
Photo # 2, 3, 4. Property of the author