I love to travel so it’s probably not all that odd that my earliest memory is travel-related. I’m not sure how old I was, 4 perhaps. My parents were going away for the weekend and planning to leave me at home with my grandmother. Of course, I wanted to go. I remember waking up really early Saturday morning. Without saying anything, I got dressed and packed my little tiny child suitcase, though I have no idea what I thought I needed for a trip at that age. Toys, probably.
Once dressed, I plunked myself on the top step of the staircas knowing my folks wouldn’t be able to leave without tripping over me.
My devious ploy worked. My folks caved and took me with them, though they soon regretted it. It wasn’t long before I got car sick and threw up in the back seat! No wonder they didn’t want to take me with them!
You know the saying, no good deed goes unpunished.
Later, as an adult, I realized that the problem wasn’t motion sickness so much as my father’s smoking. In general, I don’t suffer from motion sickness, but it tobacco is involved, I quickly get nauseated. So it was really my dad’s fault. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
What is your earliest memory? It’ll be fun if people share in the comment area, and not just other authors.
Click on the linky list below for more early memories in Week 2 of the MFRW Author 52-Week Blog Challenge.
Linda
Today, I can’t imagine being trapped in a car with someone who is smoking, although back in the day, it was no big deal. I’m sure getting sick made the trip stick in your mind!
Smoking in the car was very common back in the day, but getting sick wasn’t what made the trip memorable. That happened all the time, which is probably why they didn’t want to take me along, LOL. I think winning the chance to go is what was memorable. I didn’t usually get my own way.
Note to my fellow bloggers. I’ll be mostly away from the computer today and Saturday. Will try to visit your blogs as best I can.
LOL nice. Way to worm your way into your parents’ weekend alone trip. My boys often are confused when I tell them dad and I are having date night. Kids can’t imagine the parents having a good time without them. LOL
LOL, I was too young to understand that at the time.
To this day, I’ll never know how the hell my mom, sister, and I tolerated sitting in the back seat of my grandparents’ car (thankfully it WAS a 4-door!) all the way to Florida (3-day trip) with my grandmother chain-smoking in the front passenger seat.
I know! We often drove from Pittsburgh to LA, which is 5-6 days on the road.
Love the thought process (manipulation) used to get what was wanted. No crying, no whining, just a clear statement of the desire.
LOL. Whining and begging never got me anywhere. Manipulation sometimes worked.
Ugh, as a child I got car sick/nauseated often that usually started with a headache. Like you, it happened often. I couldn’t read while in a vehicle. I still can’t. My dad smoked in our cars.
I could always read in the car, a good thing for an only child, and the nausea stopped when I got older, but smoking in cars is still bad. I’m so glad people wised up about how awful second-hand smoke is. One thing my dad’s smoking did was convince me I never wanted to even try!
As a child, I was fascinated by smokers until one of my cousins and I sneaked an uncle’s cigarette out of the pack, lit it, took a draw and could not breathe. To this day, my throat closes when I smell cigarette or cigar smoke.
It really is foul, isn’t it?
I used to get motion sickness when I was little, it’s terrible. Not related to smoke- although I don’t like second hand smoke since it burns my eyes and throat terribly. I enjoyed your memory.
Thanks for sharing!
I got car sick all the time. Interesting to link it to your father’s smoking. Daddy was a heavy smoker, so that might be part of the reason for me as well. Thanks for sharing.
Glad that was helpful. Car sickness is a big deal among children.