What do you remember?

Annasmom

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What do you remember from when you were five years old? I have very vivid memories of kindergarten, of the house where I lived, of my toys and books, of events my parents thought were important (a tornado, school activities, games.) I don’t think I would have known what state or country I lived in, however, or my telephone number. My passions were writing and music, and still are.
My grown sons exhibited most of their important personality traits by the time they were five. One was adventurous, a risk-taker; the other was more home-loving. Both were creative, one was fascinated by rhythms and the other by songs. Anna at five showed many characteristics I would have expected to remain with her. She was extroverted and friendly, a bit of a drama queen, unusually generous (especially for so young a child). She was a writer of letters even before she could write words, and she was beginning to learn to write a few words and her first name. She was more interested in drawing and painting than in making music. She loved plants, flowers and animals.
There is another matter which occurs to me. When my sons were five and two years old, they spoke no English at all. But within six months of our returning to the United States, they could speak nothing but English. Their memories of their birthplace far away seemed linked to the language they spoke there. Only a few very vague memories remained with the son who was five, and hardly any stayed with the younger son.
 
I remember very brief snippets of things such as being in kindergarten (I cannot remember teachers names or what they looked like). I do recall the JFK assasination (not actually hearing when it happened, but I recall the funeral - we were made to watch it on TV). I also remember little bits of my family life (I recall that I believed that my father's job was to somehow make my bananas break when I tried to peel it - don't ask!)

I recall those because I had some continuity in that period of my life - four / five / six and on without any traumatic events that would have altered my rememberances. Since we do not know what has happened to Anna, it is possible that she was subjected to a type of brainwashing where her earliest memories were explained away as fantasies by whoever took her. She may very well have only the fainest of memories of her life before the abduction, and may not even believe that those memories are real. I sincerely hope that this is not the case, but fear that it may be.
 
I remember many things from my early years... having a tonsillectomy at age 2 and getting to eat lots of ice cream to make my sore throat feel better; learning to blow my first bubble; the tail not squeaking on my teddy bear I got for Christmas when I was 2-1/2, learning to tie my first shoelaces, etc. I remember breaking my arm when I was about 5 and having to wear a cast all summer. I remember summers at the beach and the ocean. I remember building sand castles out of sand buckets and then making designs on them. I remember hating split pea soup with a passion. And I remember crying when my brother told me watermelon seeds would grow inside me! I remember everyone talking, from age 2 onward, about how extroverted I was and how I never met a stranger. I also remember searching for hours at my grandmother's house for 4-leaf clovers. Still to this day I love searching for things! I hated getting dressed up for special occasions because I always found a way to get dirty (and get in trouble). I also remember crying, when I was about 4, when I found out my brother would have to go to war when he grew up. I don't think I had a clue what city or state I lived in, and probably not the street name. By the time I was 7 I knew my phone number, but not when I was 5. Coincidentally, I still remember that phone number to this day. I also remember what the outside of our house looked when I was 5 and also the exact layout of every room in the house, right down to my bedroom closet. I would say I'm pretty much the same person today, with the exception that I now love split pea soup.
 
My earliest memory is when I was 2 and sitting in a stroller at the public Library while my 4 year old sister attended story time. It was a one room library so I got to hear and see story time too and I loved it, lol. I loved it so much that I grew up to be a librarian :).
I can recall the library which has a dark interior and stain glass windows. I can recall the nursery school I went to. I remember a finger puppet show the teacher put on and my favorite rocking horse. I remember the physically disabled child who lived next door to me that I would play with. I was maybe 5 then. I remember the apartment I lived it. I do not remember my phone number but do recall the address.
However, I lived at the address until I was 12. I remember driving my toy tractor into a wall and splitting my head open, lol. I was about 4 then. I remember dropping a brick on my foot and breaking several bones. I was probaly 4 or 5 then.

mjak
 
I remember the house I lived in and it's approximate room lay out (although to be fair, I was seven when we moved). I remember many, many specific incidences of playing with my brothers and sisters and the neighborhood kids--playing in the empty lot next door that we thought was a jungle, or in the next door neighbor's attic that was full of toys or under the lattice covered porch of another neighbor; hours and hours of splashing in puddles of melting snow in the early spring time... I remember getting a few nickels for allowance and running to the candy store on the corner to load up on goodies.

I remember going to kindergarten on the first day and standing in the office with my mom, holding onto her for dear life. I vaguely remember what my kindergarten teacher looked like--young, pretty with short dark hair. We had a student teacher, also, in kindergarten whom I loved. Funny, I can't recall at all what she looked like, but I remember that I called her Mrs. Washing Machine. I remember that I loved painting on the big easel and building with the giant red cardboard brick blocks. I remember hiding in a grassy spot under a fire escape in the school yard during recess. It was sunny and peaceful and I didn't want to go back into the classroom. I vaguely remember a bit of a panic when the teacher couldn't find me.

I remember watching workers pave over our small dirt yard with cement (probably at four years old) and then some time later, riding down the small incline of the yard on my tricycle just to crash into our garbage cans. I knocked out my front teeth and had to go the the dentist. I remember hallucinating there (nitrous oxide, probably) and thinking that the dental nurse was a wierd Martian lady--she was all green with little antennas and she kept floating around the ceiling while urging me to spit.

I remember my grandparents coming to visit and bringing lots of food and clothes. I remember visiting them in NYC and sitting on my grandma's fancy couch. I remember the ice cream truck coming every afternoon there, and swimming in her neighbor's little above ground pool. I remember parties in my grandparents garage with yummy food and grandpa watching the Yankees on TV while listening to the Mets on the radio.

I remember a lot of things. Mostly warm and happy feelings, but a lot of specific things, too. I doubt I knew my address, but I knew how to spell and write at least my first name, before Kindergarten ever started. I knew what my surroundings looked like, I knew who my family members were, but most of all, I knew who I was and that I was loved.
 
I don't remember hardly anything from that age. I only vaguely remember where we lived at that age, and no particular events, what little I do remember is really really vague. Of course I am sort of an exception.
 
mysteriew said:
Of course I am sort of an exception.
Don't feel alone there, Myst. I am amazed at the depth of memories that people have been posting. I feel like maybe I got shorted on the 'ol memory chips inside my head.
 
I remember moving to a new house at 3. I remember moving again at 5 and can recall lots of detail about that house, room layout, yard, playing. I remember putting letters on a board and asking my mom what they spelled while she did the laundry. I remember lots of detail about our pets. I have good memory of going to school but can't remember what the teacher looked like but I sure can remember her name. I knew my first and last name and probably my phone number (my dad worked for the phone company and we had phones in every room including the bathroom and I loved to dial). I remember learning to tie my shoes at 5. I remember routines -- breakfast, dinner and bedtime and family games. And, my interests and basic personality are the same. I was in love with horses from the age of 2 although we didn't have any and I've had horses now nonstop since I was 12. I couldn't stand being told what to do as a kid and still can't. I like adventure, passionate about reading, funny, outspoken, stubborn, love to get things done and all those things are still very true. I can remember detail about the people in my life at that point. I have good detail about people who died when I was very young or moved away so I feel like I have memories that are pretty strong even when they weren't reinforced as I grew up. I remember special things like birthday rituals and Christmas traditions from that age.

So, if I was thrown into a different world at 5 I would have some memories to go on. But, if someone took me away from my family and lied to me and told me my family was killed or something I would have believed them.
 
i remember my first house. my bedroom even other rooms in the house. i remember when my peddle on my triycle fell off i had one of those plastic bikes. i remember my strawberrie shortcake pool my dog. i remember my preschool the trampoline, sliding down the slide playin in the sand box, playing inside with the pretend house and kitchen. i remember my dad taking me to the local cornner store getting the newspaper in the morning. trips to the ice cream shop, spending my summer weekends with my grandparents at their cottage in ri. i remember how my grandpa used to pick me up on friday around 1ish then we would head over to my grandmas work wait for her to get out and head to the beach. how he took me on the sand to collect shells that my grandma would wash and i would paint with nail polish. when he passed away 2 years ago that was the first thing i remembered. i remember moving to my grandmas house beacuse our house was still being built. i remeber how my kindergarten teacher was older how before snack time we would put our heads down on the table and she would play a record of some ballet music or something. i remember visiting some lady at this school when i was 5 beacuse i needed to get tested for school ( special ed) sometimes ill be bored and start to sing a song i never heard before then ill go find it online and downlode it most of the time my mom or dad told me it was a song i loved when i was little. i remeber being in my two aunts weddings and also my uncles wedding i remember my dresses i wore how my hair was this was before i even saw the pictures. i can remember stuff about other people that they have forgoten about like 2 summers ago i was telling my grandma who was visiting about a party we had at this now closed resturant she was the only one who remember it but couldnt figure out what the party was for.
 
I remember my grandparents house. The color, the layout, the storage off to the side. I remember th big back yard, I remember the lumber everywhere and my grandpas table saw (he was a carpenter). I remember that he used to bend the nails down so I wouldn't fall on them and hurt myself. I remember my mom's dog, chaquita. She was old and blind. There was another furry dog, but I don't remember it. I remember playing with my dog Jasper and hiding in his dog house with him. I remember watching MTV with my uncle Randy. We'd lay on our stomachs in front of the TV, and he'd turn up the TV really loud (made my grandparents angry) and I remember my favorite music video was 'I want my MTV' by the Dire Straights (If you can't tell, I was born in the 80's). I remember that we would play around, tickling and fighting with each other, and on the day of my Uncle Bob's wedding, my grandma tripped over us and got a black eye. We felt so bad!
I remember sitting in my red rocking chair and "reading" a book, I didn't know how to read, so I made up stories with the pictures. I remember looking through my grandmas jewelery box and playing with her jewelery.
I remember wandering around my neighborhood by myself. My little world consisted of My grandparents house, on top of a hill, and a bunch of patio style homes down below the hill. I knew everyone in that little grouping. I don't remember their names, but I remember what they look like, though.
I remember one day, my mom fixed me some macaroni and cheese, and she left for a minute and forgot to give me a spoon, so I rolled a chair over to the silverware drawer to get myself a spoon. The chair rolled away and I fell and broke my arm.
I remember that I fell asleep on the bus that took my home from pre-school. I remember I woke up and I was in the bus, but everyone was off of it but me and the driver. He was surprised to see me, and he took me back to my head start building, and they called my grandpa. I didn't know my address, then. I just knew my neighborhood. (there was a body shop across the street to the north, and the patio homes to the south, but I don't know what was to the east of it (their house was on a corner). I remember riding in his truck with the windows down, and him telling me not to fall asleep on the bus again, because they were worried about me.
I remember one day, I fell asleep behind a box (I was mad at my mom for not giving me a cookie or something, so I ran and hid, and I fell asleep). I remember I woke up because there was a lot of noise and I came out of my spot and my mom was talking to the police. I came out and they were all worried about me. I guess they thought I fell into the canal behind the house - but my world was so small - I don't think I even knew the canal existed.

Wow. I didn't even think I could recall that much!
 
hoping4truth said:
I remember my favorite music video was 'I want my MTV' by the Dire Straights (If you can't tell, I was born in the 80's)QUOTE] omg i remember that song. i was and still am a big 80s fan i remember when i was little and my aunt who worked for NBC localy. she had this nbc long shirt coat of some sorts i had that on with a baseball cap on backwords and i was dancing to footloose which was one of my favorite songs when i was little. i also remember one day my michael jackson tape didnt work anymore so my dad pulled out the record just so i could dance to my other favorite song beat it. i still have my old teddy rumbskin doll the one who had the tape player attached with the storys and my very first cabage patch doll. which my parents said took them weeks to get beacuse it was just when they hit the market and they had to be on wating list to get one. remeber those record players that i think fisher price put out? i remeber mine and i also remeber geting the matching tape player as well
 
I remember learning the alphabet with little blow-up letters; some of the clothing I had -- a pair of brown knee-high boots. I remember burning my leg while trying to climb into a vehicle (a Suburban, I think.) I remember some TV shows, but not all of them. (Banana Splits!)

I knew the town and state and address but not my phone number.

I remember the first time I realized children were abducted; my mom showed me a picture of a missing girl who was just a bit older than me (I was about 5) and I remember what she looked like and that she was from Washington state.
 
reportertype said:
I remember the first time I realized children were abducted; my mom showed me a picture of a missing girl who was just a bit older than me (I was about 5) and I remember what she looked like and that she was from Washington state.
It wasn't Delia Cly, was it? Just kidding...
 
This woman remembers at the age of 4 or 5....


I am a white female age 47. Kidnapped from my front yard abt.1958-59, age 4-5,in France-Germany. May be Muller or Mueller. Entered U.S. 1961,age 7. Restaurant in French Alps may hold clues. Perps were the late Boyd and Christine Cardin Murphy.
 
SherlockJr said:
This woman remembers at the age of 4 or 5....


I am a white female age 47. Kidnapped from my front yard abt.1958-59, age 4-5,in France-Germany. May be Muller or Mueller. Entered U.S. 1961,age 7. Restaurant in French Alps may hold clues. Perps were the late Boyd and Christine Cardin Murphy.

do you have any contact info i would love to help this women maybe she would like to join ws and we could help her find out who she is?

i had another memory of my childhood i was five years old i had gone through tests at school beacuse i was having a hard time learning. i was classified as having a learning disability. anways one day i was in my bedroom and i was reading a book all by myself you know those dr sues books. My mom thought i was singing a song but when she saw that i was reading the book all by myself she was shocked.
 
I remember 5 years old I lived in Fort Knox Kentucky I got my first puppy named Fluffy my parents got a divorce and my first day of kinder. I got a brand new bike so that morning before school all dressed up in a brand new outfit my mom let me ride down the sidewalk one time, I fell busted my head open and had to be rushed to the ER for stiches.... 5 was a pretty busy year for me lol
 
I remember my kindergarten teacher's name, and that she had a lot of allergies. We only had 5 kids in my kindergarten class, so I remember their names too. I loved to read, recite nursery rhymes, and sing. My mom and I made audio tapes of us singing together, and of me reciting nursery rhymes and reading out of a children's book. I also would recite my full name and address on the tape. My mom told me later in life that she made sure I memorized my name, address and phone number in case I was ever lost or kidnapped. I loved Halloween, and that year I dressed up as a nurse. I had a little fake medical kit with a plastic syringe and everything. The year before, I had been Holly Hobbie during the day at preschool, and a witch at night. My mom thought the witch costume might be too scary for the other preschoolers. My grandparents pretended to be afraid of my witch costume that night. That's the earliest Halloween that I actually remember. I also remember my mom making cupcakes for my class.
 

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