CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

So many childhood memories seem to have drifted into the past because of the worries in the hustle and bustle of life but everyone still remembers clearly that childhood memories, whether happy or sad, have extremely important meanings in life of each person.

When I was a child, when I first started entering the elementary school, my mother first took me to the class. Then after I got used to the school, got used to the class, she let me go by myself. When I went to school, all the neighborhood kids called each other to go together. We only went to school, just studying hard and having fun with our friends without having to plan anything.

After school, we all gathered to play folk games. If we got bored with this game, we would play another game.

My childhood was about spending time with my friends near my house flying kites, climbing trees, picking fruit, wading in streams , catching fish and cycling around the village.

Besides school, the children also called each other to go to the fruit gardens where there were gurgling streams. We followed a small path down to the stream. During the dry season, the stream was shallow and there wasn’t much water , so we walked around groping to see if the front was shallow or not, in mud or gravel then focused all our attention on our steps and waded across the stream.

We sat and rested on the rocks next to the stream, dropping both feet into the water and watched the flocks of small fish swimming around. The wind blew gently through our ears, making each strand of sunburned hair fly fly . We took the opportunity to pick bitter herbs, a fresh vegetable that is delicious when eaten with snakehead fish porridge. On the way home, we also picked up dry firewood branches and tied them tightly to bring them home for cooking.

We both worked and chatted to each other happily. Our faces were dirty and sweaty. We sat and rested under the shade of trees along the roadside providing shade to the entire hot summer area.

Almost every house in the countryside had a few fruit trees such as plum, mango, jackfruit trees…Plums that formed clusters of fruits were delicious to the eyes of mischievous children, and we playfully picked them, quickly wiped them on our lapels or made a bowl of chili salt to dip. The star gooseberry tree laden with yellow fruits were also picked and brought home to make jam as a snack.

I remember the bright moonlit nights when we all got together to play hide and seek and the game of the dragon snake, basking in the bright moonlight until late at night and still no one wanted to go home. The most fun was the game of hide and seek, just hanging around the tree stumps. Once when we ran away together, we ran in the opposite direction and bumped into each other but it was fun.

I think it’s strange that at that time, there were only folk games along with the ones of our own devising but why every child was drawn to playing games, running and jumping whenever they had the opportunity.

The memory of playing around with friends, running around, flying kites in the fields is probably the most beautiful one of childhood.To make a kite, it took a lot of effort. The children of that time carefully polished each bamboo stick and meticulously pasted newspaper clippings. The more skillful children drew colorful peacock and phoenix motifs. Then we pulled each other out into the open field and competed with each other to release them. This was a very interesting folk game. We could play and breathed fresh air, loved nature and relieved stress after school.

My childhood was associated with the croaking of frogs on rainy nights, with the chickens and ducks in the backyard. Early morning the roosters crew loudly, waking everyone up to welcome a new working day.

The village road was lined with cool bamboo trees. The creaking sounds of tree trunks touching each other and the echo of someone’s lullaby to a child created a typical sound of the village.

School age is where we can cry and laugh with the most genuine emotions. There’s nothing more fun playing with friends and sometimes being naughty. Early morning we cycled on the way to school, accidentally meeting each other, exchanging smiles and witty jokes without any intention. On hot afternoons, we had to cycle home, hungry and tired, but there was still no shortage of words and laughter along the way home.

I remember the days when we had fun together and accidentally encountered a shower, we bathed together and innocently played in the white water.

Then during the Mid- Autumn Festival, we spent several afternoons making lanterns and waiting for the day to bring the lanterns to parade from one end of the village to the other.

Childhood memories are memories of innocent and mischievous childhood with no worries or troubles other than eating, learning and playing. Childhood memories are also a precious spiritual gift that everyone wants to keep for themselves. It’s the love of the grass and flowers in the fields, the piece of cake my mother brought home from the market, the frugal meals she cooked, the folk games and the seasonal snacks.