We were on a hike today and Guinevere started asking about first memories and what ours were. Of course, I complied with this tale…
When I was two my family headed to Spokane for a wedding. My cousin, Dave, was getting married. Of course, I didn’t know Dave from Adam, but it was a wedding and I was wearing a dress, very happy to be there. I don’t remember the wedding, but I do remember the reception. More specifically, I remember the dancing! The butter mints! The big cake! And more dancing! I will never forget the sight of some guy wearing a light blue, polyester suit complete with ruffled shirt and bow tie, of course, who was doing the twist. He put his arms it to his sides like a helicopter and proceeded to squat down while gyrating and twisting all the while. I was fascinated!

I made a friend there who tried to convince me to dance with her. Only, her version of dancing was to jump in the air and slam her feet into the ground. I remained unconvinced as she looked none to twisty or graceful and chose to run back and forth like a ballerina instead.
After the dancing I sought out my 10 (?) year old cousin Holly and begged her to let me spend the night at her house. I thought she was just the coolest and prettiest girl in the whole world! She told me to ask my mom, and that’s all I remember from that night.
Imagine my surprise at waking at Holly’s house the next morning! I was so happy. But that is all I remember from that very first memory.

***
I have another of walking into my Great Grandmother’s house but that is mostly a mapping memory and not so much a story memory.
***
I also remember the day we moved into our new house when I was twoish. I remember looking in our little house for the last time. There was one chair left in there. Then we drove to the new house and I remember seeing my pnk room for the first time and having a nightmare that first night in that big, new house. In the dream The Count from Sesame Street popped his head through the wall and was going to get me! I must have cried because the next thing I knew I was getting an arm ride to my parent’s bed where I finished out the night.
The next day I lined all of my books up in the bannister where I decided to ‘initiate’ each one by making a tiny snip with my scissors on the first page of each book. Who knows why? Regardless, my brother, Bruce, quickly caught me, alerted my parents and very few of my books were initiated as a result.

I had an interesting response to these stories. I have always connected to the tale, the event and have been able to recall what happened, but I rarely have connected to myself as a two year old. It may sound strange, but after I told that story I realized that even at two I have been this same person, the same I am at 39, just more experienced. For some reason it gives me great satisfaction knowing I’ve always been the same person. Just at two it was harder to share the complete picture if me just yet. I’m sure I’ll say the same thing in another 40 years about me at 39.

• BROWSE / IN TIMELINE
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• BROWSE / IN Tamara
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