The challenge! Childhood remembrances.

My sweetheart and daughters who have blogs occassionally invite one another to participate in what they call a "Blog Challenge". One of them (in this case Stefanie - "A Day in the Life of the Griffiths") recently invited them to write over the next few weeks about several different topics. They all decided that I should be included in the invitation so here I am again. We'll see how this attempt goes before determining to take on all four topics.

What is your earliest childhood memory is the current topic. I have carefully considered this all weekend and have had many different remembrances in mind for today, though I confess that I am not sure on the specific timing regarding any of them or if any would qualify for the actual earliest.

I have vague recollections of what must have been very dark days for my parents when my younger brothers were born and never made it home from the hospital. I also remember when my brother who did survive (Mitchell Darrin Mahan) did come home. While these are probably my earliest childhood memories they are very fuzzy and I just remember the excitement that was in the house with the new arrival and the sadness at the loss.

I also thought about a woman who I remember vividly from when my tonsils were removed. We always called her Grandma Sheetz. I can tell you she was wheelchair bound (I don't know why) and had the whitest hair and the brightest smile I had ever seen in my young life. I cannot tell you her real name to this day, but I remember her joyful attitude when she came into the room and how good she made me feel on that first visit and many other visits we had both in the hospital over those few days and later in her home as she proved to be a very good family friend.

I remember living across the street from the local Chief of Police (Richard Walker) when we lived on Laura Street in Fruita, Colorado. He was a very intimidating man to a young boy - I think he enjoyed the reputation of being a mean grumpy man. He and his wife had two full size dachshund dogs that were as grumpy as he seemed to be. He appeared to be a cigar smoker, though I don't recall ever seeing one lighted. He appeared to just chew on them - constantly.

I also considered writing about the two little girls that lived down the street that became good childhood friends. We played together in their yard (they had great trees for climbing) and in our yard whenever Dad had the sprinkler on in the front yard. Running through that cold water as the grass was being watered was a very fun time in my young childhood days. I no longer remember their names but I remember when their family moved away we all were saddened at the loss.

My Aunt Elsie and Uncle Tommy also played a major role in my young life and I have many fond memories of their home in Fruita and the many visits, family dinners, and other important events that ocurred during those years. I drove past their home in Fruita recently and noticed that many of the improvements they made to the yard and exterior of that property are still in place and appear to be well maintained. It seems a lot smaller today than I remember.

Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, my brother, the family pets, and many many friends make up the memories that I have of my young life. They all happened so long ago that I cannot narrow it down to which clear memory is the earliest. I think they all happened about the same time and make up only a small part of a wonderful childhood growing up in the western part of Colorado.

Thanks for tuning in. More to come soon.