Memories

I cannot remember anything before five years old. My father died when we were back in England for a holiday as my father worked abroad. We never returned to the home I had known till then. I cannot remember my father which is the saddest thing of all.
However, I seem to have poor recall altogether as my husband remembers much more about our life together than I do. I had a good short term memory, for exams etc. though, of course, I am not sure how long that will be true!

Always makes me laugh - my 69 (at the time) year old autistic brother and I were chatting over a few beers after our mum had died. He was seven years older than me and had an incredibly hard life because autism was just classed as 'retardation' back then. Anyway, he told me some story from childhood that I hadn't heard before. When I expressed surprise he said "Well! Are there any more stories that you don't remember that you want me to tell you?" I think I shed a little tear with my laughter and still do.

I have a friend who remembers a lot about her life in great detail. She is very self obsessed and talks about herself, her family, her husband (deceased) (mostly how much he loved her) and her life. I think she thinks about herself and her life all the time so doesn't forget it.

Wilma I m the same only have a few memories odd little bits here and there ....my Dad used to say the same Considering how much must have happened in say my first twelve years it’s amazing that I only have small snapshots of a few things

I think I can remember feelings, rather than detailed memories.
I can remember being on holiday and seeing my mum and dad holding hands, and the feeling that all was right with the world.

I can remember lots and lots of things from quite a young age. For many, many years I have kept a diary, I use an A4 page a day diary and it can last 4 or 5 years so I see what I did in the past on a particular day. I put the year and day of the week at the start of each entry. Recently I bought an A4 journal with good quality paper to write a sort of autobiography for my daughters.

Wilma. I was like you and could never visualise everything. I think I probably compensated by automatically describing things to myself. This probably acted as a verbal memory.
It continued thus for over 70 years when, because of an auto-immune condition I had developed, I was prescribed a very toxic drug.
After about 6 months of this, apart from side effects of nausea and extreme tiredness, I also started to see running pictures of places I had never been to... just like a colour film This has not happened very frequently, but compared with the complete lack of ability to see anything before in my mind's eye, I find it absolutely extraordinary

Blinko, after many years I was back in touch with a secondary school friend who remembered everyone’s name from our register in 1951! Someone else seems to know, and remember, what most of our fathers did, how strange, I had no idea what most did. I’m wondering how she found out!

I can remember back to when I was two and a half. My friends always contact me if they want to remember anything from long ago. It's not an age thing, my middle son has the same facility as I, he's 51 and I'm 77.

I think we do blank things out ... but I am interested in Wilma 65's assertion that she can't visualise things... so how can you build up a bank of memories? When I remember my childhood it is almost completely visual... plus sounds like my father sneezing v loudly, and the weird ghosty noise the gas water heater randomly made. When you remember things that happened yesterday.. what is it you are remembering? Images? Sounds? Or some kind of verbal commentary? I can't imagine not being able to visualise... And so the whole question of how we remember is v philosophical. Intetesting.

I can remember my first day at school in great detail, and yet my daughter cannot remember anything about hers.

I can remember where I went yesterday and what I did but I have no visual image in my head from the memory. I’ve tried to remember for instance walking round the shop and what it looked like. Sometimes I get a bit of an image just for a moment. I can’t remember in my head what my parents looked like or even my family that I live with. I’ve got loads of photos that I look at. It’s odd because I am a professional artist and can draw and paint most things

That just sounds so strange to me. The minute I think of something, the image of it is in my head.
I have been trying to think of 'giraffe' without visualising it (and a leafy tree that its feeding on!) and I can't do it.

I can clearly remenber being taken to kindergarten in a large navy-blue pram which had 3 padded boards with a mattress on top. When my brother was born 20 months after me, mum would push me to kindergarten aged 3 and tbe middle board would be taken out so I could put my feet down the centre. On tbe way home mum would stop to buy a vienna loaf and 2 cakes, often blacurrant tarts with a circle of cream on top (for her and dad)
I would gnaw at one pointy end of the bread then the other on the way home.
I remember a bad storm one November when I was 4 and dad came upstairs, wrapped us together in an eiderdown (inky blue and faded pink padded cotton) and tucked us into a chair while Mum made us Horlicks. Then we watched and heard thunder and lightening over the Mersey estuary, snug and happy by the fire.
I remember all my years, many of the smallest details, and can often recall the smells and even tastes, especially the thick porridge at the b&b (Mrs Mockson's) we stayed at in Blackpool for the illuminations.
I can picture it very clearly, I was then 8 and now 73.

Yes it is strange. All of my family see images but I don’t. I can draw a giraffe without looking at an image of it which must seem odd to other people. I sort of know what things look like but don’t see images at all

Mum died 26 years ago and dad died when I was 17, so there have been no shared recollections, only what I personally remember.

I can remember sitting on the kitchen table whilst my mum cleaned and put TCP on my knee after a fall, trip, or whatever it may have been.
Its the pain and the smell of TCP that feels almost as if it were the here and now..

P.S - I was 52 at the time!

I have quite a lot of memories from very early childhood. I can remember being in a pram, being in a pushchair, and, memorably, being potty trained - sitting on a chair, needing a wee and trying to decide whether I should do it the way I always had (i.e. just wee in my knickers ) or whether I should interrupt mummy talking to nana to tell her I needed the potty. I opted for the former, because I'd been taught it was rude to interrupt .
So many other memories too. My DM used to talk to us a lot about her childhood and I think she encouraged us to keep memories alive too.

MissAdventure

I also remember having my vaccination done at the very top of my left leg.
The Americsn doctor, who did it on a train to Honiton, said it was nicer for girls to have it where it wouldn't be seen, unlike British doctors who did it on the upper arm.
The scratch itched and he dabbed something on it out of a blue glass ridged bottle which had a cork stopper.
The train smelt of cigars and had pictures hanging on the panelling of each compartment.
Dad was in the RAF and mum was joining him.

Wilma I'm intrigued to know now, if you are good at drawing.
I'm fascinated.

No it’s not an age thing! My son in his early thirties seems to remember very little about his childhood but my husband in his mid sixties can recall his in infinite detail!

My earliest memory although hazy is from when i was about 2years old.I was running away from my mum towards a railway bridge, this was in Edmonton north London and we had been shopping at a market.

I remember being in a queue with my mother, she had her ration book with her. I had my dolls pram and another child tried to take my doll.