There is a small brown card...

on my desk that asks, "What images come to mind when you are asked about your childhood?" A little over a decade ago, I wrote a sort of answer to this question. The question now is, would I answer the same way now? Do I feel the same way now that I felt those many moons ago? There's a question.

This is part of what I wrote then: "I remember having to ask permission to go to the beach even it was just across the street from the house. I remember going around my grandparents' property with my cousins, in search of hidden treasures. I remember falling into the knee-deep fish pond while crossing a make-shift bridge. I remember ice creams in cones and dry ice being thrown into the pond so we kids could watch it dancing in the water. I remember puppet shows and singing accompanied by my cousins playing their guitars. I remember power shortages when the older cousins would catch fireflies from the numerous trees and put them in bottles to use as light while we did all sorts of crazy things to entertain ourselves. I remember big trees lit by fireflies like Christmas lights at night. I remember chasing after hermit crabs on the beach. I remember my uncles and male cousins wading in the pond to catch fish and then throwing it towards the “island” for us to pick up and put in buckets. I remember a host of other things that are too many to put down. I remember loving every minute of it all. And I remember crying when it was all over and the time had come for us to go back to home to Manila."

Here's more of what I remember: I remember putting on impromptu talent shows with my cousins, where our parents would try to pit us against each other. I remember a poem that we all had to memorize and recite as a rite of passage because my grandfather wrote it. And later as teenagers and young adults, I remember locking all the doors and windows of my grandparents living room so no one could enter while we watched an old home video of our childhood display of talent. I remember the embarassment we all felt as we all saw ourselves taking the stage and innocently showing off how good we were at whatever talent our parents told us we had. I especially remember the teasing, the ribbing, and the loud laughter that followed us almost into sunrise and the vow never to show the video to anyone else. 

Looking back at my childhood, I find myself happy with the images I conjure. There are so many memories to look back on. And reading through the memories I wrote down still makes me feel the same twinge of bittersweetness, the same poignancy, the same whimsy. Maybe I don't quite see them with the same vividness, but the emotions remain. Many of the things I see, hear and experience now serve to remind me of them and make me grateful. It truly was a special time and I will always be thankful that I was blessed with a wonderful childhood that made such joyful memories.