Welcome to episode ninety-one of the Life Writers Vlog.
This week, we write to a fun prompt called I Remember.
Pick a broad time period from your past and write a list of memories, each starting with I remember.
Set a timer for ten minutes, don’t think too much, and let the memories flow.
Then, share your list story in the comments section below, and let us know how it felt to write a story in this way!
But always remember, the only way to do this wrong is to not do it at all!
Loved this I remember so many forgotten things of my childhood in rapid time sequence.
From the age of seven to seventeen I lived on the farm. My soul remembers. When I die, my ashes are being returned to that holy ground.
Wow! This exercise brought tears to my eyes but I kept writing about a period of time before the age of nine. My family was part of a social club that represented the town they came from in Puerto Rico. Families in the 50’s-60’s supported one another as they traveled to New York from the Island to acclimate to a state-side way of life. I remember it was a place in Jerome Avenue where we’d go up the steps to gather on Sundays after church. I remember adults spoke about business first then the party, eating and socializing began. I… Read more »
Shared memories.
I Remember
This story shows your love and concern for your growing family from the viewpoint of a grandmother.
After a few days, I like the list format because I can add to it anytime with more memories.
After completing the first version of this assignment about my daughter, I want to share my second one, dedicated to my son. Enjoy! I tried attaching the file, but it did not work. Here is a copy. I Remember I remember the time my water broke. It was almost dawn I remember your father’s sleepy face in the bathroom, watching me, not knowing what to do I remember him calling his friend, Tommy, an EMT, to take us to a hospital I remember dressing up for the ride. I remember opening the front door to greet Tommy I… Read more »
Trying again
This is a child’s dream come true.
Thanks Nancy.
A beautiful piece. Love is shown through an ordinary event, eating ice cream.
Thanks Dave, I actually wrote this in just a few minutes. Once I started eating the ice cream with Hershey’s syrup, all those memories came back in a flood.
Judy, so much better, told from your heart. So poignant and revealing.
Thanks Etya.
Love and contentment through ice cream and syrup. It is somehow the blessing of those who had fewer things growing up. A richness.
Thanks Thierry, I was eating vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and all these memories came back. It was all pictured in my mind. It took me about two minutes to write.
Here is my second “I remember” story. Enjoy.
My entry about my college years.
Yes, those college years. How we learned so much more than what the professors taught us.
Wish someone had droped me in a dorm somewhere, anywhere! What a great portrayal backed by great american albums, the best and the worst with the Vietnam war. Sliding on the floors in your underwear and the AWB posterior ( I had to check it out and now remember the sound of that group). This is material for American coming of age movies.
College in a nutshell.
Very nice, Dave. I was there with you.
I REMEMBER BY THierry Lagarde
Thanks for sharing your memories of your first work experiences as you learn about the outside world.
Really interesting chain of events, Thierry. Begs to know more.
When we have a peek at our lives in that matter, I find it gives a strange twist to the notion of time. Our lives hold in a few ”chained” words as you say.
Interesting memory.
Yes, it just suddenly resurged.
I guess I don’t feel bad about military food anymore.
I enjoy eating just about any food and curious to discover more. But that episode!
I usually respond well to prompts. Listing works, in various ways. On our last Tuesday Write and Read. After the three stories were given feedback. one group memeber suggested we read our individual brainstorming lists. It was revealing to read them as a story in itself.
I enjoyed writing to this prompt. Here is my version of I Remember.
My dearest Etya, I felt the joy, crying through most of it knowing the pain you felt writing it. I love you and am always here for you.
LOL Your MomJa.
Such a powerful account of your mother-daughter relationship. Thanks for sharing.
Absolutely!
So strong, complete.and somewhat joyful. Loved the Vatican alarm moment! And then… remoteness and you, silenced, in a way. Good for you that you wrote this piece Etya.
Thank you so much, Thierry.
Perfect.
Thank you, Judy.
This sounds like fun, Patricia. I will do that and post when it is ready.
So many details, and special moments. This is a story your daughter can save and cherish.
I don’t think she will be interested.
Here is my “I Remember” story: list structure
You gave a snapshot of your cousins’ lives, reflecting family and religious values. Your reaction to Uncle Martin’s discipline shows something about yourself as well. Well done.
I can understand why you felt sad and embarrassed for Marvin. The whole atmosphere is sadening and hits home, for the trio of M’s.
A list of people important to you, and the end with Marty becoming a Lutheran minister.
Interesting list, Judy. The thought kept running through my head. Why this memory? There must have been something that triggered this memory of your cousins. What was it?
I honestly don’t know what triggered that memory. It just crept into my mind so I wrote about the time with the cousins. I just realized Patricia wanted this over a broad stretch of time., I didn’t do that here. I might try another one.
Enjoyed writing this “I Remember” story.
Julie, how beautiful and ditto to Nancy’s comments.
Grandma White’s love, home and stability must have meant much to you as you moved across the country. You have captured who she was in the eyes of her granddaughter.
Julie. you give a greatnportrait of what makes living worth while. The ordinary everyday settings and the extraordinary, in the eye of the beholder. You brought this home back to life.
A great memory of your grandmother over time, and the things you shared with her.
A beautiful memory of your grandmother. I felt the happiness, joy, and sadness you experienced visiting her. Well done, Julie!
I remember growing up in a land- and amid the aftermath- illegally occupied by European colonialists who predators like pounced on everything good only to leave everything bad, terribly worsened in fact. Now that’s like opening old suppressed anti colonialism feelings’ Pandora’s box. Space here won’t suffice in accommodating revealing telling. But I remember! I will better record my treatment of the subject “I Remember” in a literary book.
This sounds like the start of an interesting memoir.