First Memory − 15 May, 1968
There are white clouds in a bright blue sky. A range of mountains is in the distance, past a post-and-wire fence in the backyard of some apartment building. There are swingsets in the empty yard. The grass is green.
That's the first thing I can remember about my life. When this occurred, I don't really know. All I have is the image and the sense of a bright, sunny day with a breeze.
I was born in Boulder, Colorado on May 15, 1968. I only stayed there, though, until October of that year. My newly-graduated dad took his chemistry doctorate and young family east to Woodstock, Illinois to work at Morton Chemical. I've never lived anywhere else growing up, and any family trips went to places like Detroit and Maine. We went back to visit when I was much older (freshman in high school).
I have lots of clear memories of my first few years on Lucas Road, where we lived until I was 2-1/2, but it seems unlikely that a baby less than 5 months old would be able to remember anything. I think my mom said that we took a trip back to Boulder to visit some of my parents' college friends, maybe the summer after my first birthday. Even then, that would be stretching things. I have been told by those who know that kids don't start saving their memories for recall until about 2.
Yet, the image in my head is clear ... There are white clouds in a bright blue sky. A range of mountains is in the distance, past a post-and-wire fence in the backyard of some apartment building. There are swingsets in the empty yard. The grass is green.
That's the first thing I can remember about my life. When this occurred, I don't really know. All I have is the image and the sense of a bright, sunny day with a breeze.
I was born in Boulder, Colorado on May 15, 1968. I only stayed there, though, until October of that year. My newly-graduated dad took his chemistry doctorate and young family east to Woodstock, Illinois to work at Morton Chemical. I've never lived anywhere else growing up, and any family trips went to places like Detroit and Maine. We went back to visit when I was much older (freshman in high school).
I have lots of clear memories of my first few years on Lucas Road, where we lived until I was 2-1/2, but it seems unlikely that a baby less than 5 months old would be able to remember anything. I think my mom said that we took a trip back to Boulder to visit some of my parents' college friends, maybe the summer after my first birthday. Even then, that would be stretching things. I have been told by those who know that kids don't start saving their memories for recall until about 2.
Yet, the image in my head is clear ... There are white clouds in a bright blue sky. A range of mountains is in the distance, past a post-and-wire fence in the backyard of some apartment building. There are swingsets in the empty yard. The grass is green.
