“Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the
things you are, the things you never want to lose.” From the television show “The
Wonder Years.”
It is interesting that such a profound statement came from a
television show. Reading it caused my
mine to meander on this topic, and thus I’m writing this blog.
Our memories are powerful.
Our character, our personality and so much more that makes us who we are,
were formed, at least in part, from our childhood memories. Whether good memories or bad, they helped to
shape the adults we came to be.
Many of the fears we have as adults are rooted in childhood
memories. Those memories can cause us
anxiety as adults, or they can bring us great joy. Our drive (or lack thereof), our attitude
toward life, and our morals and ethics all were planted with the seeds of
childhood memories.
I was fortunate to have a fairly “normal” childhood, no
abuse or alcoholism, with many wonderful memories. Sure, there are some not-so-pleasant memories
mixed in, but not many.
Fabulous memories my siblings and I share concern our many
family trips to Yosemite National Park in California. Our family visited Yosemite every year for at
least 20 years, and we all share a special place in our hearts for those trips.
Of course, it wasn’t just the place, but the fact that our family was all
together enjoying Yosemite together. I
recently discussed Yosemite with my brother and sister, and we all agreed that
we cannot quite describe how precious those memories are to us today. Rather than simply memories, Yosemite became
a part of us.
I have read that a person learns more from birth to age five
than he or she learns during the rest of their lives. Whether or not that is fact, it does make
sense when you think what we knew when we entered the world. I would think that our grammar school years
would be of very great importance as well when we consider how much we learned
during that time. It is no wonder our
childhood memories so greatly influence the adults we are today.
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