Thursday, January 31, 2008

Where I am From ..... The Prologue



This post has been lurking in my brain and on the tips of my fingers for quite a little while now.

It has puzzled me.

I suppose, if I'm honest about it, the main difficulty for me, is the comparisons I am making between Molly's version of "Where I am From" and my own version. The light and the dark.

I don't have very many memories of my childhood. Probably, because I don't look back very often. But sometimes, when I do wander back, it makes me curious as to WHY some part of my brain has chosen to secrete the bulk of my childhood memories and why I am, still, allowing this to happen. Why am I choosing not to remember? Is it because I have the attention span of a goldfish and have actually retained very little from my younger years? Or do I actually have a choice in the matter? If it is the latter then, why am I choosing the easy option? Or is it the easy option?

Of course, if I am realistic and sensible about it all, I realise that, inevitably, our two lives and the memories that accompany those different paths, are inextricably bound up in our own, very individual, personalities and experiences and therefore, bound to be quite different.

That said, I do sometimes wish that one of my children would choose to further their education and mine by taking a course in Psychology.

What follows are the rather dark pickings from the recent archaeological dig.

7 comments:

Maddy said...

Well you never know. Quite often we set out in one direction but change course later.
Best wishes

meggie said...

We can walk in the light. Shadows & darkness will always remain strong memories, I feel.

Anonymous said...

Interesting pair of posts. I think we all have the light and dark within us, and it's just a matter of recognizing it, admitting it, owning it.

Tanya Brown said...

I have tagged you for a meme. No worries if you don't have time for it, though.

Pam said...

Hmm, very atmospheric.

Laurie Lee once wrote, about autobiography - specifically, different children's memories of the same childhood, "There is no pure truth, only the moody accounts of witnesses." Which has always struck me as rather good.

whimsical brainpan said...

I don't remember much of my own childhood.

Are you sure that you are choosing not to remember?

Stomper Girl said...

I have a terrible long-term memory and an excellent short-term memory. So I am great at dancing (remembering choreography) and waitressing (remembering orders), but my childhood is a big blank. It's partly why I blog now, so when my kids ask me stuff about their childhood, I can refer them to the back-catalogue!