Childhood Memories

Wed, Aug 19, 2009

All Posts, Everyday Life, Misc., Single Life, The Early Years

Several years ago when I moved back to the east coast, I had no place to store the boxes that contained my childhood memories. So for several years, these boxes sat in my parents’ basement, just waiting for the day when I would reclaim them. Much to my parents’ relief, I’m sure, we moved them to our house last year where they have been in our garage gathering dust. I knew that one day I would have to sit down and actually go through them all. Yesterday was that day.

First let me say: what a mess! I found hundreds and hundreds of cards that had my mom had been collecting since I was one year old. I organized them and separated them according to who they came from. The best part of doing this was finding a stack of letters from my grandparents who are no longer with us.

I even found dozens of notes that I had passed to and from friends in the halls of our high school. I realize that these notes are 20 years old, but I still can’t believe some of the things that we wrote about. Little tidbits such as: ”Do you want to meet at our locker before 1st period so we can try to see Robert in the hall?” or “I like Trey, who do you like?” I threw some of these away but held on to quite a few of them so that I could one day show my children just how silly I was. And to show them what we used before texting came along.

Then I got to the really fun stuff: the clothes. I found baby outfits that I had worn during my first few months.

And items that were definitely reminiscent of the 70s, like this shawl that had been beautifully crocheted by a loving relative.

I was glad to see that my mother had kept some of the dresses that I had worn during photo shoots, such as this red and black checkered outfit.

And here I am modeling it on my 3rd birthday.

Then one of my personal favorites, this pink and blue camel dress.

Seen here when I must have been between one and two years old.

I’m so glad I have these outfits. I keep thinking that one day, once I learn how, I’ll use them to make a quilt or some other keepsake for my little one. But until then, they’re back in their plastic bag for safekeeping.

I found my dancing shoes, which brought back a flood of memories of all the dance classes I took.

While I don’t have a picture of me in action, I do have a picture of me in my leotard on the way to class.

I found my Girl Scout badges and handbooks, which reminded me of all the hours spent in meetings and walking around the neighborhood selling cookies. I loved Girl Scouts! Do kids even do that anymore? I hope so.

But the best thing that I found in my boxes yesterday was something that came as a complete surprise to me. And it was something that was really needed too. I found pages of handwritten notes that my mother had written about her birthing experience with me. How she went to the hospital at 10:00 am and how they gave her a pill to start the contractions (she was a few days past due). How my dad was kept out of the room and how she had the nurses help her. She didn’t go into the specifics about the pain involved, which was probably just as well. But it was amazing to read about what she went through, especially as I prepare to face that same journey in a few short months.

Then I found this, a baby book that someone had given her and that she used to chronicle her journey.

It was great. She listed her weight gain (hardly anything – I’m so jealous), and her choice of names for both a boy or a girl.

There was even a page full of exercises for designed to help her stay in shape. I don’t know how effective they would have been, but they were fun to see nonetheless.

She even wrote details about her baby shower such as who attended and what gifts they gave.

This book is priceless, as are all of the other things I found. It’s amazing to realize that my mother was once just like me – facing the fear/joy of starting a new family and all of the things that it included. It was so great to see the items that were special to me as a child and as a teenager. To remember all of the things that were once important to me like the high school newspaper staff and the French club. Things that I hadn’t thought about in years and would have probably forgotten about.

So even thought it took hours to go through these boxes, I’m so glad to have done it. And I’m glad that my mother thought to keep these mementos. I think she knew that one day they would be important to me and would be something I could pass on to my own children. I think she knew that childhood memories such as these are truly irreplaceable.

What things have you kept from your childhood? Are there things you wish you had kept?

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Tags: childhood

24 Comments For This Post

Janet Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 5:07 am

My grandparents lived far away from us and we only visited them once a year. I remember my grandpa giving me a buttercup flower he had picked for me. He told me how much I meant to him. I kept that little dried flower until it crumbled to bits. But the memory is still as bright as if it were yesterday.

Kristy Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 5:15 am

My mom also kept all the greeting cards and letters we received as children. I’ve sorted through and not kept them all, but I do have a nice little stack. My girls have worn some of my old dresses and used my baby quilt. I love looking back at old year books once in a great while.

Now I’m the keeper of cards, drawings and baby books. It’s a fun task!

Joanna Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 5:15 am

HA! My mom had the same book She didn’t fill as much in, though.

I’ve got all kinds of fun stuff my mom saved from my school years. I hope I’m as good as she was about hanging on to things for my kids. I’d like to be somewhere between where I am now (I throw away everything not nailed down) and my MIL (who informed me when I got pregnant with our first that she still had every baby outfit my husband had ever worn). Of course, between the blog and the millions of digital pictures, I’m sure my kids will end up with a well-documented childhood!

Julie Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 5:47 am

Those are some pretty awesome things. I mostly only have some things from high school. We’re moved enough that most my childhood things got given away as I outgrew them. Still have my high school diaries. Part of me wants to burn them but I won’t. Still a part of who I was.

http://www.youravon.com/jtaylor6553

The Wife of Odie Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 6:38 am

I LOVED reading this. I’m so jealous that you have so many dresses and cool books from mom. What a great thing to find and what perfect timing. I want to read about her birthing experience!

Mom of 5 Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 7:35 am

Oh the memories and sweet happiness I enjoyed by your finding joy going through your boxes of memories. Just seeing the pictures brings everything back in full force so quickly. How long it took me to get your smiling face in the black and white checked dress! You didn’t want to have anything to do with having your picture taken that day and I was there for 3 hours but look at the great photo I finally got when you realized the photographer wasn’t going to “get you” or something.

You’ll find the perfect blend of what you want to keep and have ready to share with your children one day. How they’ll treasure these special bits and pieces of their life. You need to begin looking for special boxes to begin holding things for this special little one from birth announcements, congratulation cards, etc. Everything adds up quickly. Just remember the joy you felt when going through your things and you’ll want your child to have special memories and physical things to hold from their own childhood one day.

Thanks for these special moments and pictures that capture those frozen moments in our hearts.

Hokie Deb Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 7:57 am

–>I love going through old mementos too!

http://www.WebSavyMom.com

Mindee@ourfrontdoor Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 9:37 am

That book is funny. It looks like it was written for the baby – not the baby’s mom!

What a fun trip down memory lane.

joy Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 9:40 am

I used to keep lots of letters from penpals I have had throughout my elementary and middle school years. But at one point I had to purge all those since they were getting too much. It was fun to read the kinds of things we wrote each other back and forth. I love that your mom kept all those things for you. Our memories are in our photographs. Since my mom adopted me, there are a lot of pictures of me. She also kept my report cards which I have no idea where they went off to. I have kept a number of things from my son when he was a baby and also have a baby book for him though I haven’t been good about keeping it up. When I got pregnant with him, my MIL gave me some things she kept for my husband…a silver baby cup, a silver pin which has been passed down for generations, etc. She also had a baby book for my husband which was fun to read including a few cards. I love going over these past memories and hope to keep some for my son and soon to be new son!

Andrea Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 11:32 am

my mom kept almost EVERYTHING. Drawings, clothes, school play programs, etc. I don’t keep quite everything but have tried to keep some notes and stuff from high school just to provide a snapshot of what my life was like then. One thing I am glad she kept was my baptism gown. I know that my children will use it someday (providing I don’t have 10 lb. babies..then it wouldn’t fit..

Helena Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 1:21 pm

That sounds like a lovely time you had going through those boxes and it reminds me to perhaps hang on to things and save them for the future as I’m not naturally a horder and prefer to clear things out every so often.

I am however very glad my mum kept so many things from my childhood and she actually wrote a special diary for me from the day I was born until I was about 8 years old where she wrote down things we did and things I said and that’s a gold mine when it comes to bringing old memories back. I’m so grateful for my mum to have done that and taken time to write in that diary almost every day.

Helena Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 1:22 pm

And by the way, you looked adorable as a little girl

erin Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 3:31 pm

How wonderful that you found all that! You have quite a bit more than I have. My mother has some of our clothes in her hope chest, beautiful dresses that she sewed for my sister and myself and sweaters our grandmother knit. My things were largely pared down in college as I moved from one apartment to the next to the next. I have my Girl Scout sashes with the badges, the corsages my dates gave me for homecoming and prom, some notes from friends (including a candygram from my 8th grade boyfriend), my two dolls that my mother made me, Jenny and Joey, and the Cabbage Patch Kid she made me. I have the Snoopy sheets from my bed that I absolutely loved, with Lucy disco dancing with Snoopy – NICE 1970s. And of course, my baby book. So wonderful!

Heather @critter chronicles Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 3:32 pm

My mom saved a lot of my baby stuff, too, and when I had my daughter she gave me all of it. Some I had to give away; it was just too outdated. But there were quite a few pieces that were still in great shape, which my daughter wore often. I loved that my mom saved so much and I’m trying to remember to do the same for my kids.

sparkly_jules Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 7:45 pm

Tabitha, you were even cuter as a child than an adult!! And I love that little black & white outfit! And to find the book your mother kept when pregnant with you!? Priceless.

I have boxes of pictures and cards that were given to me and to my mother from me, and things I made in school that used to go on the fridge. They’re just taking up space and gathering dust, but I just can’t bear to part with them. I move them from place to place.

Hugs,

Jules

Sandy Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 10:00 pm

Great Memories!

Madison Says:
August 20th, 2009 at 10:05 am

My mom kept diaries for my brother and me. She also had a baby book that chronicled all of the firsts that a baby has, as well as showers others had for her.

It’s nice to look back on those things.

Lily Says:
August 20th, 2009 at 12:03 pm

Oh my goodness, those clothes are ADORABLE! I love them. My parents didn’t keep many things but they did fill two huge files full of letters from when they found out they were expecting. They kept doing it until I was about 12/13 and always said they hoped I’d keep a document of my life and continue. Now I’m abroad they always ask me to update them on my life here. I’m trying to pluck up the courage to keep things on a blog for them to read but I’m paranoid….can’t explain it! In those files there are so many stories – things I said, foods I liked, little quirks, birth of my siblings, stories about day trips, what I thought about school, what I was up to. So, so, so, so much. It’s funny, when I was 2 I was saying words/phrases (that I had made up) and today I still say the same things. I have a lot of my own phrases and words that I made up as a little kid that are still mine today.

Love your site

Lily Says:
August 20th, 2009 at 12:05 pm

Oh, and in the book where it says “Keeping in trim” At first glance I thought it said “Keeping them in!” :0) Lol

Robynn's Ravings Says:
August 20th, 2009 at 9:01 pm

What a bountiful treasure trove she saved for you! I’m sorry I haven’t gotten back to your questions but life has been CRAZY with getting Bo ready for college, managing a major campaign on the blog, and oh yeah! There’s my OTHER child, bless his heart. I will try to get you answers next week when life settles down. I hope you’re able to get by the blog and see what’s going on! I seriously hope to get the healthy word out!

Alzo Says:
August 21st, 2009 at 3:05 am

I still have a few old things from my childhood that I have hung onto over the years, but not many. It seems that I cull through the stuff every few years and the collection gets smaller and smaller. I have a few letters from my brother when he was in Vietnam, and some grade school papers I wrote. Little items of memorabilia. It is great to collect these things and pass them on. Thanks for the great post.

Kate Says:
August 23rd, 2009 at 7:07 am

Those keepsakes are beautiful!!! You are so lucky to have all of those things still with you. And your mother’s baby journal? How amazing to have it all written down.

Sometimes I wonder if keeping a blog or a website will have the same effect on my children (when I have them). They won’t be able to feel and touch and taste the words written on a piece of paper…

Heidi Says:
August 24th, 2009 at 6:02 am

I love this post! I love that you not only have these outfits, but you have childhood PHOTOS of you in these outfits. Kudos to your momma for saving them. Great post. Love this kind of stuff – especially the letters from your grandparents.

And Kate – I sometimes worry about the same thing.

Jenny Says:
August 26th, 2009 at 1:27 pm

I love going through the stuff I’ve save since childhood. Your mom’s pregnancy stuff is really cool. Makes me want to go check out my baby book.

Janet Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 5:07 am
My grandparents lived far away from us and we only visited them once a year. I remember my grandpa giving me a buttercup flower he had picked for me. He told me how much I meant to him. I kept that little dried flower until it crumbled to bits. But the memory is still as bright as if it were yesterday.
Kristy Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 5:15 am
My mom also kept all the greeting cards and letters we received as children. I’ve sorted through and not kept them all, but I do have a nice little stack. My girls have worn some of my old dresses and used my baby quilt. I love looking back at old year books once in a great while.

Now I’m the keeper of cards, drawings and baby books. It’s a fun task!
Joanna Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 5:15 am
HA! My mom had the same book She didn’t fill as much in, though.

I’ve got all kinds of fun stuff my mom saved from my school years. I hope I’m as good as she was about hanging on to things for my kids. I’d like to be somewhere between where I am now (I throw away everything not nailed down) and my MIL (who informed me when I got pregnant with our first that she still had every baby outfit my husband had ever worn). Of course, between the blog and the millions of digital pictures, I’m sure my kids will end up with a well-documented childhood!
Julie Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 5:47 am
Those are some pretty awesome things. I mostly only have some things from high school. We’re moved enough that most my childhood things got given away as I outgrew them. Still have my high school diaries. Part of me wants to burn them but I won’t. Still a part of who I was.

http://www.youravon.com/jtaylor6553
The Wife of Odie Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 6:38 am
I LOVED reading this. I’m so jealous that you have so many dresses and cool books from mom. What a great thing to find and what perfect timing. I want to read about her birthing experience!
Mom of 5 Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Oh the memories and sweet happiness I enjoyed by your finding joy going through your boxes of memories. Just seeing the pictures brings everything back in full force so quickly. How long it took me to get your smiling face in the black and white checked dress! You didn’t want to have anything to do with having your picture taken that day and I was there for 3 hours but look at the great photo I finally got when you realized the photographer wasn’t going to “get you” or something.

You’ll find the perfect blend of what you want to keep and have ready to share with your children one day. How they’ll treasure these special bits and pieces of their life. You need to begin looking for special boxes to begin holding things for this special little one from birth announcements, congratulation cards, etc. Everything adds up quickly. Just remember the joy you felt when going through your things and you’ll want your child to have special memories and physical things to hold from their own childhood one day.

Thanks for these special moments and pictures that capture those frozen moments in our hearts.
Hokie Deb Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 7:57 am
–>I love going through old mementos too!

http://www.WebSavyMom.com
Mindee@ourfrontdoor Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 9:37 am
That book is funny. It looks like it was written for the baby – not the baby’s mom!

What a fun trip down memory lane.
joy Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 9:40 am
I used to keep lots of letters from penpals I have had throughout my elementary and middle school years. But at one point I had to purge all those since they were getting too much. It was fun to read the kinds of things we wrote each other back and forth. I love that your mom kept all those things for you. Our memories are in our photographs. Since my mom adopted me, there are a lot of pictures of me. She also kept my report cards which I have no idea where they went off to. I have kept a number of things from my son when he was a baby and also have a baby book for him though I haven’t been good about keeping it up. When I got pregnant with him, my MIL gave me some things she kept for my husband…a silver baby cup, a silver pin which has been passed down for generations, etc. She also had a baby book for my husband which was fun to read including a few cards. I love going over these past memories and hope to keep some for my son and soon to be new son!
Andrea Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 11:32 am
my mom kept almost EVERYTHING. Drawings, clothes, school play programs, etc. I don’t keep quite everything but have tried to keep some notes and stuff from high school just to provide a snapshot of what my life was like then. One thing I am glad she kept was my baptism gown. I know that my children will use it someday (providing I don’t have 10 lb. babies..then it wouldn’t fit..
Helena Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
That sounds like a lovely time you had going through those boxes and it reminds me to perhaps hang on to things and save them for the future as I’m not naturally a horder and prefer to clear things out every so often.

I am however very glad my mum kept so many things from my childhood and she actually wrote a special diary for me from the day I was born until I was about 8 years old where she wrote down things we did and things I said and that’s a gold mine when it comes to bringing old memories back. I’m so grateful for my mum to have done that and taken time to write in that diary almost every day.
Helena Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
And by the way, you looked adorable as a little girl
erin Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
How wonderful that you found all that! You have quite a bit more than I have. My mother has some of our clothes in her hope chest, beautiful dresses that she sewed for my sister and myself and sweaters our grandmother knit. My things were largely pared down in college as I moved from one apartment to the next to the next. I have my Girl Scout sashes with the badges, the corsages my dates gave me for homecoming and prom, some notes from friends (including a candygram from my 8th grade boyfriend), my two dolls that my mother made me, Jenny and Joey, and the Cabbage Patch Kid she made me. I have the Snoopy sheets from my bed that I absolutely loved, with Lucy disco dancing with Snoopy – NICE 1970s. And of course, my baby book. So wonderful!
Heather @critter chronicles Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
My mom saved a lot of my baby stuff, too, and when I had my daughter she gave me all of it. Some I had to give away; it was just too outdated. But there were quite a few pieces that were still in great shape, which my daughter wore often. I loved that my mom saved so much and I’m trying to remember to do the same for my kids.
sparkly_jules Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Tabitha, you were even cuter as a child than an adult!! And I love that little black & white outfit! And to find the book your mother kept when pregnant with you!? Priceless.

I have boxes of pictures and cards that were given to me and to my mother from me, and things I made in school that used to go on the fridge. They’re just taking up space and gathering dust, but I just can’t bear to part with them. I move them from place to place.

Hugs,

Jules
Sandy Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Great Memories!
Madison Says:
August 20th, 2009 at 10:05 am
My mom kept diaries for my brother and me. She also had a baby book that chronicled all of the firsts that a baby has, as well as showers others had for her.

It’s nice to look back on those things.
Lily Says:
August 20th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Oh my goodness, those clothes are ADORABLE! I love them. My parents didn’t keep many things but they did fill two huge files full of letters from when they found out they were expecting. They kept doing it until I was about 12/13 and always said they hoped I’d keep a document of my life and continue. Now I’m abroad they always ask me to update them on my life here. I’m trying to pluck up the courage to keep things on a blog for them to read but I’m paranoid….can’t explain it! In those files there are so many stories – things I said, foods I liked, little quirks, birth of my siblings, stories about day trips, what I thought about school, what I was up to. So, so, so, so much. It’s funny, when I was 2 I was saying words/phrases (that I had made up) and today I still say the same things. I have a lot of my own phrases and words that I made up as a little kid that are still mine today.

Love your site
Lily Says:
August 20th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Oh, and in the book where it says “Keeping in trim” At first glance I thought it said “Keeping them in!” :0) Lol
Robynn's Ravings Says:
August 20th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
What a bountiful treasure trove she saved for you! I’m sorry I haven’t gotten back to your questions but life has been CRAZY with getting Bo ready for college, managing a major campaign on the blog, and oh yeah! There’s my OTHER child, bless his heart. I will try to get you answers next week when life settles down. I hope you’re able to get by the blog and see what’s going on! I seriously hope to get the healthy word out!
Alzo Says:
August 21st, 2009 at 3:05 am
I still have a few old things from my childhood that I have hung onto over the years, but not many. It seems that I cull through the stuff every few years and the collection gets smaller and smaller. I have a few letters from my brother when he was in Vietnam, and some grade school papers I wrote. Little items of memorabilia. It is great to collect these things and pass them on. Thanks for the great post.
Kate Says:
August 23rd, 2009 at 7:07 am
Those keepsakes are beautiful!!! You are so lucky to have all of those things still with you. And your mother’s baby journal? How amazing to have it all written down.

Sometimes I wonder if keeping a blog or a website will have the same effect on my children (when I have them). They won’t be able to feel and touch and taste the words written on a piece of paper…
Heidi Says:
August 24th, 2009 at 6:02 am
I love this post! I love that you not only have these outfits, but you have childhood PHOTOS of you in these outfits. Kudos to your momma for saving them. Great post. Love this kind of stuff – especially the letters from your grandparents.

And Kate – I sometimes worry about the same thing.
Jenny Says:
August 26th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
I love going through the stuff I’ve save since childhood. Your mom’s pregnancy stuff is really cool. Makes me want to go check out my baby book.

Childhood Memories

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