I remember going out fishing with my father when the fish were literally trying to jump IN the boat.

We caught 112 flounder that day

Cijs fish are not very bright

I remember the way my Dad always smelled of cigarettes and cologne. His smile and the way this gorgeous blue eyes danced when he did. The way his arms felt when he used to hug me tight. His deep raspy quiet voice. How we always had Sunday night game night, because my mom worked third shift, so she would be napping, and him and I could have wrestling matches, wiffle ball games, bike races, etc. I remember the way he laughed, I remember dancing with my feet on top of his, I remember him teaching me how to play softball and that he was at Every game I ever played....I remember the day I came out to him (I was 16, and he was the only one I told until I was almost 30). And lastly, I remember and I can still hear him say "I love you Judge" (my nickname he gave me as a kid)....I miss him so much :rrose:

I was reminded of this memory because the person I shared it with posted on Facebook that she was going to a lake...

It was a beautiful summer day. I was about 22/23 and I was with my first girlfriend who was femme (didn't know anything about butches yet), and we were in Nova Scotia. We hiked through the woods to a pretty lake. We got in a paddle boat and paddled out to the middle of the lake and got super high. And laughed and talked and then paddled back...which was hard because of our state and there was some wind and a bit of a current going in the wrong direction. It's a happy memory.

**I don't partake in that mind altering activity anymore.

I remember when I was little, before I could spell, being in the backseat of the car with other little children, my mom driving, and her friend getting in the passenger seat. My mom asked her why she was covered in bruises and she spelled out, "D-O-U-G" (her husband). My mom nodded. I was so curious what word that spelled but knew that I'd get in trouble if I asked so I just kept spelling it in my mind over and over for hours in order to remember so I could ask someone later what this secret and powerful word was. Later at home, when my mom wasn't around, I asked my dad casually, "What word does D-O-U-G spell?" He seemed to think for a moment, caught off guard, and then said, "It isn't a word." He was probably being genuine in his answer (or not). I remember feeling so disappointed. Had I not remembered the letters in the right order? How could that be? The letters by that point were stuck on repeat in my brain. It wasn't until I could spell that I finally put it together. Doug was the reason why my mom's friend always had bruises. By then it wasn't satisfying to know, just sad.

The annual Love Feast at my Gramma's Dunkard Brethren church... the smell of homemade food and the Love Feast bread (a very special recipe handed down generations), the quiet ceremony and traditions, the respect of all the elders, family and fellowship, watching each member kneel down to wash the feet of the brother or sister church member, how that act was done so gently and tenderly, how they drank grape juice (no alcohol permitted) and broke the special bread after blessings, and how the air and comfort of the space seemed to fill with unspoken powerful feeling of belonging and calmness. ... how I miss those times with my Gramma.

Riding my bike all over Norman without a worry. Hanging out and the park with my friends, jumping from the swings as far as we could. Racing to the Taste Freeze for a fresh squeezed cherry limeade with extra cherry. Trading marbles we bought from TG&Y and wishing I could go back and do this all over again.

I remember when I was real little visiting my grandmother's farm in rural Alabama. She was making a cake and had run out of sugar so she sent me down to the barn, up the ladder and into the loft to get more sugar. You would not believe me if I told you how many bags of sugar were hidden under that hay. It wasn't until years later I figured out the old woman was running shine. (and I thought she told me to keep it a secret because she had a sweet tooth).
:drunk:

I remember..
 

I remember chasing the sun across pastures, on horseback, as it rolled over the great land of home...

I remember our shetland Sheepdog, Tiny Tim, playing for hours with me as a young girl...he was so happy and frisky.

I remember burying my baby dolls. In my mother's garden bed.

I remember hating school. I loved the studies. I hated the cruelty of the other children.

I remember having my first drink. I drank it because I was so unhappy. It became a theme for my drinking.

I remember the day my brother committed suicide. In fact, everything after that became defined by it.

I remember falling in love for the first time. And I remember falling in love each and every time. I wonder if love really does feel like the soft velvet of a rose petal...thats how it feels to me inside...

I remember when my horse snapped her femur in half and had to be put down. I still get nauseous thinking of it..

I remember looking in doorways and smiling

I remember being told the facts of life and thinking sperm jumped over the bellybuttons to get into the woman. My sister didnt tell the facts very well..,

I remember holding my baby for the first time, after giving birth to her...I never saw anything so close to god before..

I remember the physically abusive relationship I was in for 7 years. I remember it was safer for me to be in it with him than it was for me to come out....

I remember coming out...

I remember seeing my mother dead...

I remember watching my father die...

I remember seeing my front yard alit with thousands of dragonflies....

I remember dating a priest....

I remember being destitute

I remember every insult against me. We all do. I can bet that those who delivered it do not...

I remember christmases at my house when my daughter was young. I filled the house with traditions and family and it was the most joyful time of the year...

I remember being a bulimic...

I remember the taste of a good sweet apple in my mouth...god I love fall!

I remember playing bingo with my parents as a young girl, in a bingo hall that was three stories high...

I remember disco dancing...

I remember sanitary napkins and tampons. Thank GOD for menopause!

I remember learning about a new disease called ARC, later AIDS

I remember paying $3000 for my first computer.

I remember my first kiss...

and my last...

I remember growing up in Poughkeepsie, NY...I was younger than the 5th grade but older than the 3rd grade spent in a horrible place called Austinburgh, Ohio...We had just gotten back from 9 months of exile in Ohio with my father moving us to OH when the Fargo Corporation in NY laid him off...

Our first summer back at our childhood home that we seized from the squatters that lived there...

My mom had planted a garden including the usual vegetables along with some not so usual veggies...

In her eggplant patch she got up early one morning and tucked some white chicken eggs under the fruits of her labor...and told me that was where eggs came from. (I believed this until we moved back to Connecticut where I was born!)

In the backyard under the apple trees (Mac's) there was a ring of mushrooms that formed a circle the size of half a kick-ball field...and she said that was a Fairy Ring...She went on to tell me that the fairies would come out to meet at night and sit atop the mushroom caps as they called their meeting to order.

To this day I thank my mother for her ripe imagination, and I laugh with her as she laughs at my gullible soul. I don't even want to begin to tell you about the day we moved back to rural CT when I was only 12, or as I call that moment, "The day I learned where milk came from..."

I'm loving this thread and would love for it to wake back up.... I'm too tired to think coherently and contribute properly lol

I remember looking forward to the tent revivals that our church would host. They always felt so good.:)

Duchess

I remember