First Memories

This morning has found me in a bad mood. But rather than complain about it (though I'm sure I could make everything sound quite entertaining and garner a moderate amount of pity), I'll leave my sorrows behind on gchat and wax nostalgic instead.

I don't know how old I was for my first memory of my mom, but I remember the feeling nonetheless. It was this realization that I loved this dark-haired lady who gave me Smarties when we went to the bank, who sang me songs and turned on tapes like "Sounds Like Fun." I loved Mommy, and I loved everything about her.

Nor do I remember my age for my first memory of my dad. I do remember him scratching my face with his stubble. He liked to whistle. One time when I was a toddler he took me out of Sacrament Meeting and I remember feeling embarrassed.

My first memory of Leslie is when I was 2 and she was 4. It was a windy day and the door slammed on her finger, breaking it. I was on the other side of the room and she still blamed me.

Right now the first memory of Kaylie is from when I was 4 and she was 2, though if I thought long enough I could remember an earlier one. The memory is of her biting my elbow. It hurt! I cried and cried and Mommy gave me a wet washcloth to make it feel better. The pain was still too much, so I fell asleep in my bed. When Daddy came home he saw that the pillow was all wet and he thought it was from me crying myself to sleep, and he wasn't very sympathetic.

Oh. here's something earlier. I don't remember it but it's worth mentioning. According to my mom, before Kaylie was born, I marched around the house announcing "His name will be John" like a mini Zacharias. Guess I was wrong.

But I was right for a few things about Jennie. When Mommy told me she was going to have another baby, I decided her name was going to be Holly and she was going to be tall and blond and basically look like Odette from Swan Princess. Considering there was no one blond on either side of the family, I find that rather visionary, even if her name wasn't actually Holly. When she was born I slept on the window seat and I think the Risenmays watched us. And/or Grandma Rytting. We went to the hospital the next day with presents.

Kiana was born when I was almost done with kindergarten. I woke up one day and Marival from across the field was at our house making breakfast. In the mornings I went to the preschool lab at USU, and when I got back I ate lunch at the Briscoes. I think Sandi was a little impatient with me being too picky for a PBJ.

"Don't do peanut butter?" she asked.

"Don't do jelly," I responded, worrying that I might actually have to eat this thing.

Just then, my dad showed up and rescued me. He took me home and made me delicious ramen for lunch. And then I went to kindergarten. And then I met Kiana.

The day my mom found out she was having a boy, I cried. I was in 3rd grade and couldn't bear the thought of having a boy like Brett or Brian or Corey living in my house. (I later learned that boys are the best, especially Spencer.)

In my 3rd grade class, my teacher would ask for current events. Most of the time the boys would share current events about the Packers or Broncos or Cowboys, all of which I hated because they liked them. One time Michael soberly went to the front of the room with a newspaper clipping with a picture of our substitute teacher. He had just been arrested for something. (Nice background check, Providence Elementary.)

But rarely did I have a current event worth sharing. One Friday in the middle of May, I announced that my mom's due date was today. Then Monday rolled around. Still no baby. Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. Friday. Another weekend. Monday. Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. Friday. Each day, my teacher asked if the baby had come yet. Nope.

That Friday afternoon, my parents headed up to the hospital for my mom to be induced and we all got to have sleepovers with the Tanner girls, even Kaylie and Kayley, who weren't old enough for sleepovers yet. Brooke and I played until midnight, wondering if the baby had come yet.

The next morning, we found out that baby Spencer had come around 11 that night! Our own baby brother. And then I finally got to share a current event in class, right before the end of the school year.

And those are my first memories of my family members. There. My mood improved.