Recalling the Earliest Memory I Have

Today’s Bloganuary prompt asks, “What is the earliest memory you have?”

According to Verywell Mind, we begin to form memories as early as two-and-a-half years old. Besides age, other factors that help recall memories are “culture, gender, family,” and how we are asked to remember those early memories.

Keep reading for my recollection of the earliest memory I have.

My Earliest Memory

One of my earliest memories is from when I was about four years old and it involves my grandparents. Growing up as a second-generation Asian American, it’s normal to be raised by your grandparents rather than your parents. Up until the age of 10, I lived with my grandparents while my parents started their restaurant business. And as the first-born grandchild, I feel like my family has many memorable stories to share with me. Especially since they were all brand-new experiences for every family member.

My fondest memory was one summer afternoon when we were prepping for dinner. I remember my grandparents came back from the market with groceries. And at the ripe age of four, I thought I was big and strong enough to help carry the groceries into the house. So I ran out to the car and grabbed the first thing I saw. It was my favorite summer fruit — watermelon.

Excited about the refreshing snack, I ran back into the house while carrying the watermelon. In Vietnamese, I exclaimed to my family, “Dưa hấu! Dưa hấu! Dưa hấu!”

Or in English, “Watermelon! Watermelon! Watermelon!”

And that’s when I lost balance. The watermelon weighed too much for my tiny toddler body. It rolled out of my arms and smashed onto the kitchen floor into uneven pieces.

So sad and disappointed, I started crying because I thought I had upset my grandma. But everybody laughed about it. Then my grandma consoled me and went out to buy another watermelon.

Fast forward to the present, and it has been about a decade since my grandma passed. To this day, my remaining family members continue to remind me of that moment. And even though I was embarrassed at the time, that story has become one of my most favorite, fondest, and funniest memories with my grandma.

What’s your earliest memory?

Let me know in the comments! I would love to hear about how old you were, where you were, who you were with, and what happened.

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