What memory do you cherish from your childhood which at the time was the most mundane thing ever?

Lunches out in the field with my father and grandfather while we were doing the hay on the farm. My mother and grandmother would bring us bread and cold cuts and we’d all stop and get together and eat and talk, sitting on the ground. Seemed pretty mundane at the time,but they’re both gone and I miss those simple moments we had together.

@Adirondackwannabe that’s exactly the kind of thing I mean. Nice memory.

Drinking water straight from the windmill on the family ranch after working for hours in the hot summer sun. It was always so cool and refreshing and had a natural mineral flavor that city water just doesn’t have.

Going everywhere with my mom in her VB Beetle. Sometimes I’d even sit on her lap while she drove (Did I just show my age?) My sisters are 6 and 7 years older than I am, so they’d go off to school and her and I would get in the car and take off for the afternoon until they got back from school.

Riding on the lawnmower with my pop while he cut the grass. Nothing was better than when I got to steer!

(my mother didn’t let me steer the Beetle though)

Riding my bike. I loved to ride bike and would constantly challenge myself to ride farther and farther from home. I think the farthest I rode was to my local mall which was about 8 miles!

How cute are all these stories!!

Helping my grandmother pack lunch for my grandfather. He’d leave very early each morning, before daybreak, to work in the oil field. He carried a black metal lunch box, and my grandmother would include a hard-boiled egg, a homemade peach fried pie, and a sandwich. Sometimes I’d go with him to spend the day in the field, and I would pack myself a similar lunch.

When my mom and I were still living outside of Seattle, she and I had a walk that we would take on a regular basis. It was always the same walk and we passed a bunch of “landmarks” that lodged in my mind. I remember blackberry bushes and some of the houses, but mostly I remember the animals. There may have been more, but mostly who I remember is this grizzled old kitty who had either been badly abused or lived his life on the street. He only had one eye, he was missing chucks out of his ears and his face was scarred up but he was the sweetest thing. He would come right up to me and took the greatest pleasure in letting me pet him. I also remember the “dog and pig house.” Whenever we passed this house we would see, you guessed it, two dogs and a pig. The two dogs were fiercely protective of the pig and if he was in the backyard, they would come running at us they were fenced in barking and barking to get us moving along. :) Those were good walks.

Just jumping on a trampoline. Not playing any games, or doing any flips, just jumping up and down.

I have a “one day” event. We once spent a day with my cousins when they lived in an apartment waiting for a remodel to be finished. The apartment complex had a pool and rec rooms and we had a great time that day, and my Aunt was a terrifc cook. It was probably 50 years ago and I remember it vividly. Everytime I cross a bridge nearby I point out the apartment complex to @KatawaGrey…

Walking to my Gramma’s after school in Sidney, BC. I was in grade one, and my sister and I would reach her driveway and just grin….her driveway was equivalent to a block long, but lined with plum, apple, and cherry trees. It took us almost an hour everyday after school to walk that driveway…cheeks full of fresh fruit, pockets full, reaching up high to pull off fresh plums….amazing. When we would finally get to the house, Gramma Mary would be annoyed with us because we would be too full to eat the after school snack she had prepared for us. Everyday we ate our way there, and everyday she would make us a snack that we never ate. I think she secretly enjoyed the game. =)

I was really sick. (Almost all the time.) I was the 5th of 6 children, Dad was dieing, mom was working, and we didn’t have a lot of money. I didn’t want to be a burden, and really didn’t know I had a right to complain.
My oldest sister took me to the doctor. I got chest xrays and they found out I had pnemonia.
I felt so loved just because I was taken to the doctor. Like I was valuable enough to care for.

My parents flipped houses so we were always cleaning, renovating, and living briefly in these homes. I used to enjoy pushing through huge walls of flowering bushes to the backsides against the yard fences, raking and pruning until it was immaculate. I’d spend hours back there after school with my Barbie dolls and Breyer model horses.

laying in the grass outside of my parents house, on the first days of summer, chatting with one of my best friends

Riding home in the car at night after an evening out somewhere. My parents in the front seat, brothers and I in the back. Feeling so sleepy and my mother always said, “When we get home, we’ll pop you into bed like a piece of toast.” It was one of the times that I felt loved and secure.

@janbb , That reminded me of pretending I fell asleep in my dad or my brothers arms so they would carry me to bed. :-)

Riding with Grandpa to get gas or wash the car. We’d go over a bump and he’d yell “wheeee!” with me. :) He always bought me a Clark bar or a pack of Charms.

Roadtrips with the family. Sooo boring at the time, but I would love to have a family sing-a-long again (I learned so many old songs that way), sit in the backseat reading or listening to my Walkman or daydreaming. Lying down while traveling at night felt so cozy and comforting. Sitting in the front to keep my dad awake while my mom slept was some of the best one-on-one time we’ve ever had. My M.O. was to ask a good question, then sit back and listen. I learned a lot from him during those late night conversations.

Pulling into Grandma & Grandpa’s driveway, jumping out of the car, throwing open the door and smelling the mix of candles and pipe tobacco. That smell meant home.

@picante My grandma packed Grandpa two old-fashioned loaf & sandwich spread sandwiches on Roman Meal bread every day for 25+ years. When I was there, my job was to put them in the sandwich bags and then into the paper sack.

One of my favourite memories is building puzzles with my parents and younger sibling. We would crowd around the kitchen table and work on the edges first and then fill in the rest as we found pieces that connected. I had completely forgotten about this until I found out my significant other’s parents used to do the same thing with their eldest son. There’s something about working together on a small task that felt rewarding.

Getting up early on every Saturday morning to watch cartoons in the mid to late 1970’s.

I remember snuggling up on a chair with my mum and listening the her breath and the clock tick. It is one of the few memories I have of her and I still have the sense of feeling very safe and loved.

Going under the blankets at night with my stuffed animals, and pretended to have a party. The parties were basically us playing with imaginary toys, but toys that were based on all the crap we had in kindergarten, that I wished I could play with for more than twenty minutes. XD

I also loved it when my dad took me downtown. We had to take the bus to get there, and I really loved the bus ride. One evening I drew a picture of a bus and gave it to the bus driver the day after. My dad just went down there to get normal stuff done, but it was a whole adventure for me. I remmeber waiting in great anticipation for downtown trips for like days lol.

Walking the dogs
Conversations/stories/math and geography lessons with my dad before bedtime.
Summer evenings with my friends. We’d often complain that we were bored but looking back I se how carefree it was.