Drinking sweet milk that was bought from a street vendor in Korea right around my second birthday. It came in a round paper container with a foil lid that you poked a straw through.
Climbing up a woodpile to get away from a headless chicken.
Wanting to jump off the edge of a mountain when we were looking down at deer in the woods below.
Seeing the school bus full of kids going to the zoo drive by me and my grandparents while we were driving to the optometrist. They went to the zoo and I got a fucking eyepatch to wear over my lazy eye. That made headstart fun. Not.
Hiding under the covers in the bedroom I shared with my grandparents because I was afraid that Snuffleupagus was going to come out of the closet. The bedspread was pea green with little fuzzy-knobby things on it.
Getting an adult library card when I was in the third grade. Loving having the whole library at my disposal.
My little sister locking me in the bathroom when we were home alone. She knew I’d kill her if she let me out so she didn’t until Mom got home.
The way the hot tar bubbles on the road would pop when we stepped on them on our walk to the town swimming pool.
Grandma making us wear orange lifejackets to the swimming pool. We quickly taught ourselves to swim so we could ditch those things.
Learning to drive a stickshift. Deciding that I would never own such a vehicle.
The song that I was on when I danced with my first husband when we were in high school.
Listening to my sister-in-law give birth to my nephew. Thinking that I would have to have my ass knocked out if I ever had kids.
The way my nephew’s head felt on my cheek when he was a baby.
My niece’s little cone-head when she was born. She looked like Marge Simpson.
The horrible way my niece’s arm looked when she broke it under my watch and the way she bounced on the ground when she fell.
Holding Sylvie’s hand when we go places. I know she won’t let me hold it much longer.
What Sweety was wearing the first time we met.
The sneaky look on Sweety’s face after he scared the hell out of me by popping a straw on our first date. That’s when I fell in love.
LB’s face peeking at me over the edge of the bed the first morning after I’d met him. Waking me up to play and be Pink Ranger.
BB asking me if I wanted to see the surprise (engagement ring) that his daddy had hidden away for me. I told him no but he was dying to show me. We waited til Sweety got home to see it.
16 Comments, Comment or Ping
I <3 snuffleupagus. But, for some reason I always thought it was snufflelufugus. Did you grow up in Korea?
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Chickie said:
February 21st, 2010 at 11:13 pm
I always loved watching Snuffy on Sesame Street but for some reason, imagined that he had a dark side.
I didn’t grow up there but visited with my Mom for two months around my second birthday. It’s the first memory I have.
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February 21st, 2010 11:05 pm
So lovely to read. This is the kind of stuff that keeps me reading blogs. – G
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Chickie said:
February 24th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Aw, sweet. Thank you!
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February 21st, 2010 11:51 pm
I like this post and I now know some new things about you!
I love how you talk about the boys. Just so sweet. I can tell how much you love them.
Hope you have a great week, Chickie!
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Chickie said:
February 24th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Working on the week….I’ll be glad when Friday is over!
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February 22nd, 2010 8:11 am
How did you and Sweety meet?
Were you born in the US or in Korea?
These memories make me want to interview you for the back stories!
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Chickie said:
February 24th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Our how we met story is here. It was a whirlwind!
I was born in a tiny town in Oklahoma. The only time my Mom’s been back to Korea was that trip for a couple of months when I was two. I was still sucking a bottle when we left and to wean me – she threw the bottle away in the airport before we got on the plane. She said I didn’t freak out.
Um, I sucked my thumb til I was in middle school (and maybe now in my sleep if I’m stressed.) and I blame it on being weaned from the bottle in such a manner.
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February 22nd, 2010 9:26 pm
These are very very very sweet!!! Love you sharing these little slivers of your life!
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Chickie said:
February 24th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Thank you :)
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February 23rd, 2010 10:58 am
Oh My Dear….this is such a sweet post. You write so WONDERFULLY!!!!! I mean, I could see it all….every one of these Memories.
And you know the one that really brought back a memory in my owm life? The Hot Tar Bubbles.
Chickie dear, I bet I haven’t thought about that in almost 70 years…!! (Yeah, I’m OLD…!) But it came back to me so clearly—even the smell of that Tar, and what fun it was to step on those Bubbles and hear that SNAP! It’s like your love of Bubble Packing Stuff….YES? Me Too!
But all of this writing is just BRILLIANT. You paint a pcture with your words. I can see it all, my dear. I CAN SEE IT ALL….Wonderful!
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Chickie said:
February 24th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Oh, yes! The way those bubbles sounded when you stepped on them! I liked to try and squish them slowly so I’d get a loud “pop”. I didn’t want to miss that sound.
I hadn’t thought of it but yes – this is like my love of bubble packing! Bubble packing just doesn’t have the mess!
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February 23rd, 2010 9:43 pm
What a cool post, and great idea for a post- do you mind if I borrow it?
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Chickie said:
February 24th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Take it away!
It was one of those things I’d had in the drafts to add on to from time to time. Figured I should post it before it got much longer!
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February 24th, 2010 8:58 pm
Love, love, love this.
“Holding Sylvie’s hand when we go places. I know she won’t let me hold it much longer.” Sigh…I think my oldest niece has reached that stage. I’ll never forget taking her to the Mall in DC for the day when she was five, and the subway ride back. She’d had a blast all day, we’d gotten caught in the rain, were soaking wet, and she was so tired that she fell asleep against me. I tucked her under my arm and I never wanted that subway ride to end.
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Chickie said:
February 25th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
I love sleeping kids! As of last summer, Sylvie would still lay down with me during the day and let me tell her a story before we took a nap. We napped so we could stay up super late like rockstars.
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February 25th, 2010 11:56 am
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