Slice of Life Story Challenge March 23 -Time, Memories And The Ghosts of Childhood

In childhood time often moves quite slowly. It stretches away into the distance. We are suitably dazzled and distracted by the immediate moments that surround our lives. We embrace moments, new and exciting. -Moments requiring our undivided attention. When you are in the midst of these childhood years you are too close to the action to ever realize that time is passing.

I recall summertime in my own childhood. It seemed to last forever. Those holidays presented opportunities for a myriad of adventures. Time was relegated to the background. We were immersed in the now. The inevitable return to school was an intrusion on endless summer fun. Returning to school was not on the radar. We were too busy for such thoughts.

What we see, what we feel in childhood is often more acutely felt. An increased sensitivity is often attached to those early memories. They are emotionally loaded. We were not merely sad, we were devastated. We were never just happy, we were over the moon with joy. This is why such memories, even in our adult years remain as vivid recollections.


A teacher informed me recently that she wrote a book at school when she was only six years old. When she the book home to show her father, he virtually showed no reaction. It left her feeling bereft. She still has that book and she vividly recalls the pain she felt all those years ago. It glows brightly in her bank of memories. Time moves slowly in childhood, maybe that is why memories go so deep. 


Comments

  1. Cathy24 March 2014 at 09:55

    Alan,
    This is so true. I enjoyed the way you stepped back and wrote about the way we see the memories of our childhood. I always find certain childhood memories etched deep in my mind. This is true even though I may be unable to tell you what I had for dinner last night.

    When you said, "We were not merely sad, we were devastated. We were never just happy, we were over the moon with joy." I nodded in agreement. I see this across the year with the first graders I teach. Each birthday, each treat, each holiday, each event, envelopes them in irresistible joy. When they are sad, they are broken hearted.

    Thanks for sharing these thoughts on childhood. Interesting.
    Cathy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amy Rudd24 March 2014 at 10:58

    Alan,
    I trekked back in time to my own memories of childhood as I read your slice...these memories do seem so vivid and how you described them seems so true for me as well! Fun to think about those times!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Stacey Shubitz24 March 2014 at 12:09

    It's amazing how something like a lack of reaction stayed with her for so long. It reminds me that we have to praise kids' efforts (while still trying to stay true to helping them develop a growth mindset).

    Thanks for this thought-provoking post.

    ReplyDelete

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