Memoirs: Early childhood memories

by Gary Maclean

I was outside in the hot but refreshing summer breeze, my hand cradled tightly in my Mother's hand. We were exiting a large courthouse where it had just been decided that I would be living with my Mother and her new black ...read more

by Heeseon Ko

My Abnormally Normal Childhood I walked down the road from our family car to the market place on Kleine Waterstraat, and was immediately taken aback by the horrible stench from the local fishermen, farmers, and people w...read more

by Cyn Bagley - Memoirs Steward

The door to my kindergarten class was closed. As a girl child of five, I looked small as I faced the door. My index finger traced the swirling wood patterns that adorned it. Mesmerized, I pleaded to its uncaring surface....read more

by Julie Hartnett

Christmas at Four Christmas was my favorite time of year. I suppose most children feel the same way. The opening of gifts and decorating the tree seemed to be the only thing we ever di...read more

by Dreidle Flare

Twilight had set in. The streetlights were flickering on. All the children on my street were being called in for the evening. Sweaty hands had been washed, tables were set, and supper was being served. I sat at the kit...read more

by Lovisa Mango

I was born 29 years ago in a small town of Busia District in Uganda. We speak a language called Samia which is one of the Bantu languages. I grew up together with my parents and life was well until one of my brothers, brou...read more

by Mary MacDonald

WATERING CAN GAS CHAMBER Just another scorcher, that day in 1957! I really hated summer holidays. I was seven, adopted, an only child and of course I was bored stiff and depressed at the prospect of spending one more lone...read more

by David Caudill

A Memoir of Innocence D.E. Kaudil I walk with my family of five, through the long commercial corridors consisting of the hustle and bustle of many people, accompanied only by their portable possessions; tightly wrappe...read more

by Christine G.

My mother and I talk on the phone at least twice a week. Usually, we cover a lot of the same territory. However, the last phone call opened my eyes to something new. We were discussing early memories. I said my first...read more

by Susan Clements

Hopewell Rocks, August 1961. I am standing at the edge of the North Atlantic, icy water swirling around my feet as the lazy waves encroach and slither away. I am six years old and furious. I have no idea why. In thi...read more

by Brooke Wolfe

When I was young, snow was magic. Narnia is magic and it is "always winter in Narnia," according to the famous seven book series by CS Lewis. When you're young, snowy days mean no school, sleds, snowmen, hats, scarves, ...read more

by Sylvia Outlaw

Janie will soon be five years old. Today will be another new experience. Everyone, except Mom and the new baby brother, will be going back to the woods to put taps on the sugar maple trees. Dad, three older brothers, an ol...read more

by Jiorje

I guess the one thing that stands out the most from my childhood happened just a few months after my dad had been killed at work. My mother and big brother and I lived in a small west Texas town of a few thousand where lik...read more

by Crystal Achey

Happenstance, A True Story. (And Yes All the Names Have Been Changed to Protect the Guilty) 1. "These Are The Contents Of My Head" ~ Annie Lennox It all began at Camp Pendleton, Marine Corp. Base, California, circa 196...read more

by Richard Davis

THE ULTIMATE WAR EFFORT It was 1942. I was between 11 and 12 years old, in the 6th Grade at Citrus Grove Elementary School in Miami Fla. The US had entered World War II about five months before after the Japanese bo...read more

by Joseph Aaron Friedman

The House on Chase Street When I was a boy, the most important things in my life were my toys... and television. It was the early 1960's, when television was in black and white, and the only channels were: Two, five,...read more

by Yvette Durham

"Last one in the water's a dummy!" I called as I tore down the warm soft sand, kicking up a dusty trail in my wake. My sister, Julia, was at my heels laughing exhaustedly as she struggled to reach the rolling waves of the...read more

by Lindsey Brander

Brave New World The summer I turned ten I spent two weeks hunkered down in the passenger side floorboard of a U-Haul truck. My mother, stepfather, two-year-old brother and I were moving cross-country from San Franci...read more

by Fern Cohen

Sunday dinner at the Cohens was special. But it wasn't roast beef and mashed potatoes; it was likely to be wonton soup and chow mein. Sunday dinner came from the Chinese takeout or occasionally, the Chinese restaurant. ...read more

by catydid

I draw a memory from my childhood, a time of embarrassment and humor. Although at the time, funny it was not. I was tall for my nine years, and very thin, with long gangly arms. My short black hair did nothing to take a...read more