March 08, 2020

My Earliest Childhood Memory (a writing prompt)

My earliest childhood memory.

Once in a while a certain smell or sound will make me feel a sense of déjà vu, but I don't actually remember a lot of my childhood. And a lot of what I do remember could just be my mind playing tricks on me.

However, when thinking of my earliest childhood memory, I really think that I remember it correctly. People have told me about the situation itself, but I do believe I remember the event leading up to it.

I was two years old. I remember that I was sitting on a "bike trailer" that my dad had made. You know the wooden flat bed trailers that hook up to cars or trucks? Well, my dad made one to hook up to bikes. I was only two years old at the time, so I wasn't riding a bike, but Jeanie and Brian were 10 and 8 respectively.

This is what I looked like when I was two years old:


I don't remember who was on the bike when I was sitting on the trailer (if anyone). We weren't moving anywhere. We were just sitting in the driveway, and other kids (my cousins) were riding bikes up and down the street of our neighborhood.

My cousin, Kim, was babysitting me and my siblings.

I was sitting on the bike trailer eating a piece of cheese when one of my cousins (I remember who, but I don't want to say in case I remember this incorrectly) rode his bike up to the trailer and bumped his tire against the edge of the trailer.

This is where my memory stops, and the words that others have told me begin.

I started choking on a piece of cheese. Kim, who was babysitting, was actually in nursing school at the time. She ran to the neighbors to call an ambulance, but in the meantime, she worked on trying to dislodge the cheese that I was choking on.

I actually passed out because the cheese was lodged in my trachea for so long.

From what I was told, Kim managed to dislodge the cheese and I was (obviously) okay. I don't know how long I was unconscious. Like I said, all I remember was the moment right before it happened.

Kim went on to become an amazing OB nurse. She had three daughters, and I was very close to Kaitlin, her first. This photo below is of my (favorite) Aunt Mickey, Kim, me, and Kaitlin, shortly after Kaitlin was born.


Another memory I have from very early on was being at Kim's house and she gave me vanilla yogurt with blueberries, and I loved it. As you know, I despise yogurt, but that's the only time I can remember actually enjoying it. Just last week I was thinking about it, because Eli asked me to buy him some yogurt. I bought vanilla yogurt and a pint of blueberries.

I was very lucky while growing up--I didn't know death very well, because nobody close to me had ever died before. My grandma died from Alzheimer's when I was 17, but we weren't very close. Most of my memories of her are from when I was young--and even at that, I don't remember much. She lived in the house behind ours, and we used to watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy there in the evenings.

Kim died very young (she was in her early 40's). She had cancer. When she was diagnosed, it never occurred to me that she might die. I know it sounds cliché, but Kim was truly one of the nicest people on the planet. I've yet to meet anyone as kind-hearted as she was.

Kissing my friend Lance at Kim's wedding:



After I had Noah and discovered that I wasn't able to breastfeed (I never produced any milk), Kim was a big comfort to me. She was an OB nurse and I talked to her about the problems I was having while trying to breastfeed. It wasn't too long after that that she was diagnosed with cancer.

I love that she was the one who saved me from choking. I choked for a long time, and if she hadn't intervened, I wouldn't be here today. It's such a crazy thought. I sometimes wonder if she ever thought of it in the years after it happened.

Interestingly, another very early memory I have (I had to have been only 3-4 years old at the time) is when my dad saw a mother in a panic on the side of the road because her son was choking. We were just driving by, but my dad saw her and stopped the car. When we pulled over, my dad ended up shaking the boy upside down (which was "normal" for helping young choking victims at the time). He dislodged the object (I think it was a hard candy) and we went on our way.

To this day, I have a huge fear of choking. Not just for myself, but for others around me. When Luke and Riley come over, I cut up their food so small that the minuscule pieces probably look ridiculous. And I am constantly reminding Noah and Eli to chew their food well.

Ironically, when Eli was a toddler, he choked on his food a LOT. I can't even tell you how often I had to do the heimlich maneuver on him. When we took him to a pediatric dentist, he said that Eli's molars weren't coming together, so he couldn't thoroughly chew his food.

Eli had to get braces at three years old to correct his bite so that he could chew his food properly.


Choking is scary stuff! It seems like nobody ever DIES from choking (I, personally, don't know anyone who has died from it), but there were over 5,000 people in the United States to die from choking in 2018. It's such a tragic death, if you think about it.

Anyway, the whole point of this post was my earliest childhood memory. Even though choking doesn't seem like a good memory, I don't feel badly about it. I remember having fun with my siblings and cousins that day, and I have the knowledge that my cousin, Kim, saved me. She's been gone for a long time, but I still think of her often.

It's kind of odd, the things we remember from when we were young. I just have a series of quick flashbacks. Nothing very long, but more like still photos when I think of my earliest memories.

If you have early childhood memories, no matter how random, please share! I find it so interesting.

19 comments:

  1. I had an early memory from when I was just over 2 yrs. old. I remember sitting at our piano with my sister and seeing my mother carrying my newborn brother as he was coming home from the hospital. He was wrapped in a very nice white blanket and she was walking into my parent's bedroom. I was always surprised that I could remember something from that young of an age. It wasn't until I was an adult that my mom was talking about the piano and said something about getting it when my brother was 3 or 4 yrs. old. I questioned her about it, but she was sure. So I guess my early memory couldn't really have happened! Might explain my faulty memory now that I'm a senior citizen, lol.

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    1. Isn't it interesting to think about whether we actually remember something or if it's just something we THINK we remember? I have bits and pieces of memory that are just TOTALLY random and mean nothing (the choking incident was obviously a big deal, but I have other memories that just seem... pointless?) I notice now as I get older my memory is fading even more--and that's scary! I should start writing down my random memories, as trivial as they may seem.

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  2. I have really random childhood memories. Like one is when I was 3 and my parents just bought the house that I grew up in (they're still in the same house!) and I remember sitting in their empty master bedroom while they were painting. Probably the more vivid memory I have is when I was 6 and me and my sister and one of my cousins were watching The Lion King and we decided to recreate the fight scene with all the lions at the end of the movie. I'm sure you know how well that must have gone! I tripped while we were running and bashed my head in to my dad's wooden rocking chair. The rest of the memory is a little fuzzy but I remember my mom and aunt comforting me and holding a washcloth to my bloody face. And then my dad came home from work, took one look at me and said, "Get her to the hospital, she needs stitches". I got 6 stitches in my face, right under my right eye! Still have the scar to this day and I'm 30 now lol. This was a great post! Really makes you think about your past!

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    1. Ohmygosh, that's so funny (well, not really) about the Lion King incident! You must be younger than me--I used to recreate scenes from The Little Mermaid, hahaha.

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  3. I think a lot of early memories are traumatic ones. My first memory is of my brother hitting his head on a sliding glass door track. I don't remember him falling but I remember looking down at him and seeing all the blood because he split his head. After that I was petrified of blood. That fear didn't go away until I was a teen. I still get nervous that my son will hurt himself, so I'm cautious with him.
    Side note, I get the fear of choking. I'm the same way. When my son was a toddler I was constantly watching him. Now that he's 5 I'm always reminding him to chew his food. I won't give him a full hard candy. I will try to find one that's broken and give him pieces.

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    1. Wow, that must have been super traumatizing to see your brother like that! I'm assuming he ended up being okay. I can totally understand why that would make you scared of blood.

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  4. One of my earliest memories is choking on cereal and my mom helping dislodge it on our kitchen floor! To this day, my kids are are 10 and 14 and everyone makes fun of how small I STILL cut up food for them. I am SO paranoid about it :( Especailly grapes and hot dogs, the most chewable foods! We do actually know of a friend of a friend who died at his own 50th birthday dinner, choking on a meatball :( I dont even like them to wat alone at home, but if they do, I make them text me when they're done. I'm sure I'm traumatizing them for life... It's just a thing I have :(

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    1. Yes! I feel a little crazy in front of other people about this fear of choking (reminding my kids to take small bites and chew well--they are 15 and 14, but I still get anxiety over it). And I agree, I don't like when my kids are eating at home alone.

      That is so sad about the man dying from choking at his birthday dinner. I have never known anyone to die of choking, so it seems an irrational fear for me; but after reading these comments, I'm kind of horrified that it's very valid!

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  5. This past Christmas, my best friends new daughter-in-law who is a nurse, had to work Christmas Day, she's just out of college and she's a surgeon's nurse. She thought since it's Christmas day, and doctor's don't schedule surgery's, maybe it would be a light day. NO! The majority of cases coming in was folks choking on their turkey, ham, meat of some kind...She went home to her family that night and said, "people, CHEW your food!" LOL!

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    1. Wow, that is so interesting! So if people are going into the ER, are they leaving... well, alive? I imagine if someone chokes and then dislodges it, they wouldn't need to go to the hospital. But I guess maybe if they choked long enough, they would need to get checked out for brain damage from lack of oxygen?

      Anyway, it's meat that scares me the most, too! Just recently, when we took Luke out for his birthday, I kept telling him to take small bites of his chicken--and I swear, he deliberately took huge bites to see my reaction. Hahaha! His parents are so laid back, and I'm...well, not. Poor kid with the crazy aunt!

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  6. What an interesting memory. Although I have no memory of it, my Dad used to tell the story about how I almost choked after swallowing a crooked nail. I think I was around 18 months, probably just waking and able to reach up on the counter to get stuff I shouldn't have. Why I had access to a nail, I don't know, it was the early 1950's, I suppose things were laxer then, we didn't have so much to be afraid of? I don't know, but Dad said I coughed a few times and on the last cough, the nail came up. So I didn't choke. My earliest memory was when I was four, I know that because the neighbor girl and I were swinging on her swing set and we were chanting, "I'm Four, and You're four, but you're older than me." I guess her birthday was before mine. Those few months were so important back then. Today I'm 69, but I still have that memory of swinging in the backyard.....
    I too am still paranoid about choking. I always cut food up super tiny for my kids and now my grandkids. My grandson is crazy about fruit, but I make sure his grapes are cut finely so he doesn't choke. Sometimes I think my kids (my grandchildren's parents) don't worry ENOUGH about choking. I really am paranoid about it. Glad you survived Katie!

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    1. A nail?! That is horrifying to think of--thank God it came out on its own.

      Your age memory made me think of another memory I have. I was with my friend Sarah, who is three days older than me. We were talking about our birthdays, and we both determined that she would die three days before me because she's three days older than me. So funny!

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  7. I'm afraid my grandma was one of the 5,000 who died from choking in 2018. She was in an assisted living facility, eating her food in the dining room, and she started to choke. The staff there wasn't able to get it out of her airway in time and she went a really long time without breathing. Paramedics able to get her breathing again, but she was basically brain dead. We had her taken to a hospice facility where she died within a couple of days. I guess we could have gone nuts and sued the assisted living home, but she was 93 years old and suffering from dementia that was only going to make her quality of life worse with each passing day. It was probably scary for her when she started choking, but she probably lost consciousness quickly, and then she was gone. It was probably a good way for her to go. She had a long, accomplished life. We were glad she didn't have to suffer through potentially years of dementia.

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    1. Ohmygosh, I'm so sorry about your grandma! That is so tragic. I'm glad that you feel at peace with it. As morbid as it sounds, I agree--a moment of panic, but then losing consciousness before passing avoids a long, suffering passing at that age. I'm so sorry for your family--to lose someone so suddenly like that must have been horrible. <3

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  8. One of my earliest memories, is of touching my Aunts tummy while she was pregnant with my cousin. I must have been around 3 to 4 years old. On a sad note, one of my dads best friends daughter passed away last fall/winter from choking at the dinner table. Know one knew how to do the Heimlich maneuver. So sad.

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    1. That's so sweet that one of your earliest memories is feeling your baby cousin move around in your aunt's tummy! <3

      That is so tragic about your dad's friend's daughter--I can't even imagine how horrifying that was for her family to witness. I feel like the Heimlich maneuver should be taught to kids in school--it isn't hard to learn and who knows when you may need it?

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  9. One of my earliest memories is playing with pennies and having one fall in my open mouth and choke me. I ran to my father in the next room, and he shook me by the ankles to get it out!

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    1. That's awful! I am surprised you were able to run to your father's room in that state of panic. I remember choking on a piece of bagel when I was probably about 13 or 14 (it was only for about five seconds) and I felt sheer panic. I threw my bagel against the wall to get the attention of my mom and sister who were sitting with me. Right after I threw it, I managed to dislodge the piece on my own. But still, so scary!

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  10. One of my earliest memories is when my little brother was born. I am 3 years 3 months older than him. I remember after he was born, my aunt took me to the hospital and I was sitting on her shoulders chewing gum and she kept reminding me not to drop it in her hair! I remember seeing him under the lights in the nursery with all the other babies.

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