Memoir
/ˈmemˌwär/ noun. a record of events written by a person having intimate knowledge of them and based on personal observation. Usually memoirs. an account of one's personal life and experiences; autobiography. the published record of the proceedings of a group or organization, as of a learned society.
Can you believe we've been doing this for 17 weeks already? Please forgive me, I’m posting this one a bit earlier because I’ll be traveling to Ohio for my Mom's 80th birthday celebration towards the end of this week. This prompt stirred up so many cherished memories for me, it’s been the most enjoyable Memoir Monday post yet. I can’t wait to read what some of you post. I’ve really enjoyed learning more about you and more about the world at large through your stories.
Memoir Monday has grown so much that I won’t be able to comment on everyone’s posts anymore (and get my own work done) but I’ll still be supporting your posts with reblogs, votes, and shares on my other social media accounts (X, Facebook, etc.).
For all of those who’ve regularly participated in Memoir Monday - keep going, you’re making great progress in chronicling your very own life story for future generations to enjoy.
For those who missed the inaugural post explaining what the Memoir Monday initiative is all about you can find it here.
Now for next week’s Memoir Monday prompt:
When you were a child, what did you look forward to most?
My answer: Carefree Summers.
When I was growing up in the 1970’s and 80’s what I looked forward to most was the unstructured freedom that summer vacation gave us. I always did very well in school but didn’t enjoy most aspects of it. I had way too much energy to sit still and remember being extremely bored and daydreaming most of the time. I went to Fairmoor Elementary school until the fourth grade. I have many good memories of that little neighborhood school.
Summer vacation would last from early June until September and during those first few weeks it felt like summer would last forever. The anticipation that built up during those last few weeks of the school year were sheer joy — homework started to taper off and I started dreaming of sleeping in until eight o’clock, waking to the cooing of the mourning doves that perched on the power lines behind our house, and having the entire day to play with my neighborhood friends and ride my bike. Summers were unabashedly carefree.
When I turned nine or ten my parents started giving me the freedom to ride further away from home. My friends and I would ride our bikes along the maze of sidewalks that ran behind the Mayfair Apartments to the convenience store at corner of Broad and James. This network of sidewalks spanned over a mile from our elementary school nearly to Broad street. We would call these sidewalks our “trails”.
While riding these trails we found an old, deteriorating playground, probably built in the late 1940’s, on Ashburton Ave that not many people from our block knew about. We referred to this as the “secret playground” and would slide down the huge slide, spin each other on the merry-go-round, and try to flip each other off the see-saws. All of the equipment on this playground would be considered extremely dangerous by today’s standards.
Summertime was pretty much a nonstop parade of fun. My birthday falls in the middle of June too so I had that to look forward to then came Independence Day with its barbecues and fireworks. I can still see my Dad squeezing out half the bottle of charcoal lighter on the grill as the flame slowly crept up that flammable stream. To this day I think it's funny that I associate the smell of petroleum (lighter fluid) with hamburgers and hotdogs.
Fireworks were illegal in Ohio back then but occasionally my Dad would get a few from someone at work who had made a run to one of the bordering states. This made him an instant hero in our book and made us the envy of other kids on the block. The only fireworks we could legally buy in Ohio were weak ones like smoke bombs, sparklers, and the little ones called Bang Snaps that barely made noise. Real fireworks such as M-80’s, roman candles, and bottle rockets were the epitome of fun for most of us boys in the 1970s. I still don’t understand the fascination they held for us back then, maybe it was the whole “forbidden fruit” aspect.
Around the time I was twelve my parents bought a used pop-up camper that slept four. Towards the end of July we would take a family vacation to the East Coast and camp all along the shores of New England, visiting Boston, Hershey, PA, and New York City. We did this as a family for four or five years and these were some of the best memories of my childhood and my first experiences traveling outside of Ohio. Back then there were less national brands and franchises so when you traveled to another part of the country you really did get to experience different things, especially when it came to food. The pizza and seafood were phenomenal in New England and they had a soft drink called Birch Beer that we couldn't get enough of.
The Ohio State Fair usually started around late August. This signaled the beginning of the end of summer vacation. I started counting down the weeks before the new school year started at that point. I was also finding myself getting pretty bored with having all that free time.
This boredom usually forced me to do more indoor activities, like drawing, writing, and reading. After the State Fair was over it was time to shop for school clothes at JCPenney or Kmart. I always had a love/hate relationship with school clothes shopping because that truly marked the end of summer vacation. By this point we only had a week or two before the joys of summer would be nothing but a distant memory.
I’m truly thankful for these carefree summers before the drama of dating and the tumultuous teenage years. They seem like lifetimes ago now but whenever I think about the freedom and the fun we had I can’t help but smile. This was an amazing time to be a kid. These carefree summers were valuable, because it taught me what true freedom was. I didn’t experience anything remotely like this again until I left the workforce when I was forty-six to become a full time writer.
Rules of Engagement
- Please reblog this first post and share on other social platforms so we cast the widest net possible for this initiative;
- Pictures paint a thousand words. Include pictures in your posts if you have them;
- Answer each Memoir Monday prompt question in your own post. If possible, the prompt question will be published in the week prior so you'll have the entire week to answer and publish your own post;
- Have fun with it, don't worry about getting behind, or jumping into the project at any point after we've begun; and
- Lastly, be sure to include the tag #memoirmonday.
It's that simple.
At the end of the next twelve months we'll have created something immensely valuable together. It's so important to know our "whys" in life and there's no better way to do that than this.
Someday all that will be left of our existence are memories of us, our deeds, and words. It's up to you to leave as rich of a heritage as possible for future generations to learn from. So, go ahead, tell your stories. I can't wait to read them.
Be well and make the most of this day. I want to sincerely thank all of the participants thus far. I've really enjoyed reading your posts!
This will be another nice week to remember from our childhood, I love the theme you have chosen.
What beautiful memories you have, and I appreciate you sharing them with us.
Have a great trip, and my birthday greetings to your dear mother. May you enjoy the celebration very much.Good afternoon dear friend @ericvancewalton
Thank you my friend! It's been way too long since I've been home. This will be a very short trip but I'm thankful that I can be there nonetheless. Take care and I'm looking forward to your entry! This one is a little lighter of a subject than the previous ones have been.
So you had a birthday this month and we didn't congratulate you? You baked the cake and didn't tell us!!!
I think many of us share with you that joy for the school vacations. On the contrary, I used to love it when we would go shopping for uniforms and school supplies. That meant a new stage, new friends, new challenges, new teachers. I liked the new smell of the books. That stage was one of the most "fun" I had in my life and indeed, I miss living without worries, more than studying. See you next week and happy birthday to your mother. Hugs
Yes! I turned 53 on the 18th. It was a very low key birthday this year. Living without worry was the best part I don't think we ever get to relive that stage of life as adults. That doesn't prevent us from reminiscing though. Thank you! My Mom loves reading these comments and will enjoy the birthday greetings from all across the world. Have a wonderful rest of the week Nancy!
Your childhood memories of carefree summers was just epic bro. It sounds like those days were filled with so much joy and adventure. Wishing your mom a wonderful 80th birthday celebration in Ohio !WINE !PIZZA
Oh man, we were just so lucky to have been born at that time before smart phones and the internet. The only video games we had was Atari 2600. Thank you!
Wow Atari 2600 hehehehe
Yeah, Frogger...Pitfall, Pacman was where it was at in the mid 80's. Lol
The mid 80's when the world was absolutely epic hehehehe ❤️ !PIZZA
I have always been fascinated by the idea of having a trailer to camp anywhere, in my country they are not used to it, it is an image I have from the movies.
When I was younger I liked to camp on the shore of the beach, my first tents didn't even have a floor. When my older children were born, every two weeks I would stay with them on the beach. Thanks for the publication dear @ericvancewalton . A big hug from Maracay.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Camping is so much fun! My wife and I hope to be able to do that too someday. Thank you and I wish you a wonderful weekend!
When I was a Child, What Did I Look Forward to Most?
One thing I really looked forward to as a child was going to my grandparents' house. There I can play as much as I want, when it rains, I can play as much as I want without fear of being scolded by my mother. Even if I play in the mud, my grandmother allows it. Have a nice day, Eric.
Grandparents offer a whole new level of freedom! : ) Have a good day my friend.
Lovely child hood. Yes, for sure vacations was something even I was longing for. Because we used to go to our homeland, the neighbouring state, by traveling in train. It was an enjoyable journey.
Mine would be a close tie between the summers like you wrote about and the time every month or every other month that I would get to go stay at my Grandma's for the weekend. She just lived about 15 minutes away from us, but it was always a big deal to go into town and spend the weekend at her house. All of us grandkids did it at different points in time. She would take us to dinner on Friday night and then on Saturday morning we would have coffee with her and her sister and brother in law at a local place. I always got hot chocolate and texas toast! As I got older I would have to mow the lawn while I was there. Then on Sunday, she would swap me back to my parents at church. Camping was a big part of our summer and by the time I was a teenager I had been pretty much every state east of the Mississippi.
You were so lucky to be able to bond with your grandparents like that! I'm sure you have some great memories. Do you remember how many local/regional businesses there were when you were doing the road trips as a child? That was part of the fun for us. Different grocery store chains, businesses, restaurants. It was a little like traveling internationally is now in that regard. We never made it further west than Indianapolis but traveled all up and down the eastern seaboard and explored a lot of Pennsylvania and upstate New York.
I remember the Stuckey's gas station and rest stop chain. There are still a couple of the iconic vaulted roof building scattered around in Michigan I think. One of them is a feed store if I remember right. I also remember an old restaurant down south called PoFolks. Looks like they are both still around in at least some form. We used to hit all the roadside stops too for souvenirs. My sister used to collect the state spoons and I have a pennant collection somewhere. I think my grandma use to collect the little thimbles.
Stuckey's used to be all up and down the interstate in Ohio too. I don't think we ever ate in one though. Their billboards were everywhere too. Great memories!
Yeah, I think Sheetz is the new one that is kind of taking over. Plus Buccee's, but those are more towards Texas from what I hear.
Interesting topic, lots of memories to bring back.
A heartfelt birthday wish to your mom. That's an awesome age to celebrate.
#freecompliments
Thank you! We're going to celebrate with her all weekend.
Childhood memories always rememberable
Belated happy birthday! The theme for this week is exciting! You had beautiful memories back then. Reminiscing the good old days is heartwarming. It's different from what others enjoy nowadays. They're simple but more enjoyable. Today, kids enjoy by just delving on their gaming online. That's the big difference yet we're thankful that we've reached this far despite our age and we still managed to cope with the younger generation! Ain't that great! Have a nice day everyone!
A very happy 80th birthday to your Mom, I'm sure you're all having a wonderful celebration together!
How times have changed; nowadays parents would be horrified if they saw the things my brothers played with and what they got up to, just like the playground you speak of!
Today's kids may have the best tech stuff, but I think they're missing out on a load of fun, staring at their screens.
PS I like that 1986 hairstyle, we used to call it a 'shaggy-dog' hairstyle ;)
Have fun at the party, and a safe trip back home!
Thank you Lizelle! We called that hairstyle a "mullet" back then. They always said it was "business-like in the front but a party in the back". Lol. We grew ours really long. I hope you've had a wonderful week!
https://ecency.com/hive-106316/@edith-4angelseu/is-there-hope-for-my
Sorry this is coming late, been busy but didn't want to miss out 😊
https://ecency.com/hive-106316/@edith-4angelseu/a-journey-back-in-time
Here is my participation for the week
https://hive.blog/hive-170798/@yummycruz1/my-expectations-as-a-child-memoirmonday--7dr
A very important topic for me and the reflection that arose when searching my memories.
https://peakd.com/hive-106316/@charjaim/i-always-hoped-to-see-people-with-kind-facesmemoir-monday-week-17
When I was a child what I looked forward to most was waking up early in the morning and helping my grandmother sell fresh vegetables and flowers at the local market. I'd watch her for hours interact with those stopping by at our stand, connect with people through stories, and build relationships to increase the number of recurring customers. My grandmother was my very first sales "mentor" / teacher; a phenomenal master of sales 🥰 Markets are the best place to learn the art of selling.
What a great memory and life lesson! I bet that experience really helped you to learn how to relate to and read others!
$PIZZA slices delivered:
(5/5) @theringmaster tipped @ericvancewalton (x2)
#hive #posh
There are actually somethings that I have really done in the past which I have really wished I should have done much more better
https://ecency.com/hive-109288/@tranquil3/merry-xmas-everyone
There are some quite beautiful childhood memories that I really wish I still have which I have missed. So much that I wished I can still become a child