Day 20

Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.

1. One of my first memories happened when we lived in a tiny little apartment in Oklahoma.  And when I say tiny, I really mean absolutely tiny.  The all-three-of-us-girls-slept-in-one-bed kind of tiny.  I remember the carpet was a bluish color, and we had one couch.  But my strongest memory from that apartment was when we had a surprise birthday for my dad.  Heather and Chelsey hid by the couch, and Mom and I hid behind the tiny wrap-around counter in our tiny kitchen.  I remember Mom was holding the cake, and I remember that it was covered with coconut flakes; now, every time I smell coconut I think of that night.  All the lights were off, and the candles seemed so bright.  Dad came in, and we all jumped out and starting singing "Happy Birthday."  For a long time, no one believed me that this memory actually happened, but it did.  Dad said so.
2. Horseback riding is a huge part of my life.  I don't get to go riding very often any more--partly because of school and partly because I'm poor.  Mom would say that I should probably add that I don't ride because I'm pretty allergic to the horse hair and the hay and stuff in the stables, but that never kept me away from a good ride.  Anyways, the point it that I don't get to ride very often, and I really, really miss it.  A lot.  I feel the most confident, the most happy, the most like me when I'm on a horse.  I started riding when we moved to England, so a lot of my memories of England involve the stables I rode at and the horses that I rode.  Peter was my first pony, and even though the instructors assured me that he would bite and kick at every opportunity, he never did either to me.  He tried it the first day I rode him, but I remember standing by his head, holding his bridle tightly in my hand, stroking his nose, and speaking softly but very firmly to him.  I explained to him that I was going to be riding him for a while, and he was not to kick or bite me.  I told him I would love him and be kind to him, but he must not to try and bite me again.  Every time I rode him after that, I always stroked and petted him, gave him kisses, hugged him, etc.  I know that he didn't understand the words I said to him that first day, but I know that he understood what I meant.  And he knew I loved him, so he never tried to hurt me again.
3. While we lived overseas, we always traveled a lot.  I feel like we traveled more when we were overseas than when we were in Utah.  Anyways, while we were in England, France--and specifically Paris--was a very popular vacation destination because it's just like a four hour train ride between Paris and London.  The first time I ever went to France was a disaster--or at least that's how it felt.  First of all, it rained every day.  And not just little sun-showers that last for 5, 10 minutes.  No, it poured.  The worst day was when we went to Disneyland though.  Don't get me wrong, Disneyland was fun, and I still had a good time, but it rained--yet again--and Mom and I got stuck under Sleeping Beauty's castle for FOREVER.  Then we lost the rest of the family.  And I'm pretty sure it rained again after that.  I think that my eight-year-old brain may have been exaggerating the extremely disappointing nature of that trip, but I'm afraid that I never really liked Paris after that.  I still don't understand all the hype that Paris gets.  Yes, it is a cool city, and there are some awesome things to see (the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre), but I'm not enamored with it; I would much rather go somewhere other than France.  And it's all because we went to France during the rainy season.