Hey Pandas, What Is A Childhood Memory You Cherish? (Closed)

Spending a summer with my grandparents and discovering what it was like to not be beaten, verbally abused or humiliated every day.

Going camping and playing minigolf with my mom during summervacation. We'd go camping each year, just the two of us. My sibling and my dad never cared for it, so it was just me and mom. I loved going to the tiny minigolf course that was in the next village, so we went there nearly every day for a little while.

Four years ago, we went back to that same campsite and the same minigolf course. Nothing had changed since the last time I was there as a kid. The year after we went, my mom was diagnosed. The campsite was washed away completely due to the river overflowing from heavy rainfall.

To this day I'm happy we went when we did, because at that moment everything was the way it used to be. My mom passed away last year. The campsite's rebuilt but it looks very different. The minigolfcourse is no longer in business.

Everything's different now.

I was the closest with my grandfather, the only grandchild to visit him, not only willingly, but for almost the whole summer every year.
We have family land (The Branch) that we would camp at for "vacations".

One summer, really get before school started he took me to The Branch for a few days. Well, torrential rain got the truck stuck and the bridge washed out so we were unable to leave for almost 5 days.

It was EPIC. When the beanie weenies ran out we got crawdads from the creek, and he showed me edible wild plants. 11 year old me thought it was the best summer ever. I was just like Brian in Hatchet.

For me, it would probably be the first time I held my little sister. I talked to her everyday while she was in the womb, I was so excited to meet her. When I entered the hospital room for the first time, she had been crying, but as soon as I held her, she stopped and looked up at me. She knew who I was.

Sleeping with my grandparents in their room. The stove was booming, full of coal and wood, and my grandfather would tell me about his encounter with wolves when he used to be shepherd and spent nights with the herd. He is long gone, but these exciting tales in the freezing nights , inside the small, warm room will always be one of the happiest memories I have. I love you, Grandpa!

When it snowed, I stayed home from school with my brother and mom, but dad had to go to work regardless as he worked at the hospital. Every time that happened, he always stopped by a little store and brought small brown paper bags of candies to me and my brother. I’m in my 60s now and dad passed years ago, it every time it snows I still yearn for a little brown paper bag with a few pieces of SuperBubble, a Clark bar and a box of raisinets. Happy times!

Baking. I remember my mom first teaching me to bake, then other family doing it, and to this day, when I bake, I feel like a happy kid.

We (best friend and me) were propably about 10. We spent time in the woods a few km outside our village and "renovated" a tiny (we are talking 3-4m²) cabin we found (where did we get the curtains?), stole cherries from an orchard and had the very intelligent idea to test how far we could spit the pits while riding downhill on a dirt road. It's propably a mix of the whole summer just smashed up in my mind but it's the essence of free and careless- and the occasional injury climbing, biking etc. .

The day when I brought my Betty home ( border collie- Bernese mountain Dog mix)
She was such a little fatty hairball, she was so lost.
So I picked her up and she slept by my side. Usually putting her nose between my neck and shoulders.
In fact I could talk about her for days, because she was my little "chubby" furrball.
She could also have full "conversations" with those sounds you see on YouTube, and IG from other dogs.
I miss her so much.

My paternal grandparents had a small cabin about an hour from where we lived (in Newfoundland, Canada) and it was on a large pond. The grandparents, our family and all the aunts, uncles and cousins from both sides of the family that lived in our area would head to the cabin every Saturday morning and spend the day. We placed softball on the little beach in front of the cabin using rocks as bases. We all swam in the pond and played in the sand, fished off the wharf or out in the old boat if we could talk one of the men of the family into taking us out. We would eat sandwiches for lunch that our moms made and brought with us. We grew some veggies like carrots and potatoes behind the cabin and some of the kids (including me) would steal the carrots out of the garden and hide up in the brook to wash and eat them. We didn't have much money but boy, we had fun!!

Making toast in front of the fire with my nan. Goodness knows how much bread I burnt, but she let me do it. I have her toasting fork.

A Teddy Bear store at Pier 39 in SF had a stuffed bear costume contest. I brought my Paddington wearing a simple sweater covered with airline pins. My mom clapped so loudly that my bear won, even though other bears had much more elaborate costumes. It is my favorite memory of my mother.

Just playing army men on the floor with my big brother. He was six, I was four, and we just... played. It was the last time. After that he just started hating me, and even if he doesn't realize it, I still love him, ten years later. Ten years of him hating me, and my favorite thing in the world to think about is him and his army men.

the times before all of my friends had phones. now they are all addicted and barely talk to me :(

Being about 9 years old and living in a small rural town. Late spring/early summer on a beautiful clear and warm day. Riding my bike the few blocks home from school for lunch (which we got to do any day as long as we had a note from our guardian). The town was mostly still and quiet except for the wildlife and you could smell those gorgeous smells of jasmine and cherry plum trees blossoming. About a block away from home the smell of my mum cooking pikelets joined the throng. It felt idyllic.

the time when you are in NZ on public transport and everyone talks to each other, having a laugh. Now we just stare at our devices. Sad generation. Hey to all my fellow kiwis

When I was young (ages 7-13), we used to road-trip to Ocean City, MD for a long weekend or maybe a week once or twice a summer. My older brother and I road the waves (body surfing or raft) all day long. Then our family would have loads of the best seafood and go out on the boardwalk at night. My parents would give us $20-25 that we could use in the arcades , t-shirt/souvenir shops or buy some snacks. Our parents gave us a little freedom back when it was safe to do so. We’d Noxema our sunburns and go to bed. Laying there, it felt like we were still in the waves.

Many years ago I was visiting my Nana. I was in the car with her driving and me in the passenger seat. She had asked me to press a button for her, so I did. About 5 minutes later I was feeling super warm. About another 5 minutes later I was really hot and said to her that my butt was on fire she started laughing so hard. She told me I pressed the seat warmer and that she pranked me. This was back in mid-late 2000s and it was the first time I had seen a seat warmer button before.
It wasn’t the biggest or craziest prank but it was the best one ever. My Nana’s purpose in the life was to make sure her grandchildren were loved and taken care of. She would do anything for us. She passed away in 2020 and I still get sad missing her but thinking about this memory puts the biggest smile on my face.

My grandfather was an old sailor, he loved taking me to the sea and watching boats together.
Every month he would take me to the fisherman’s museum, where I could touch a stingray, look at cool old stuff and listening to his stories. Got never bored!

The memories I had with my mom before 2021. I moved out of her place and with my dad because I sometimes didn’t feel safe around her.