Childhood Memories

lately i've been catching myself thinking back to my childhood (perhaps a sign of old age setting in) and recalling random, but pleasant memories. i'm not sure the reasoning behind these recollections, but it seems that in almost all of these 'flashbacks', my senses of smell and sound come through in full force.

for example, last week i visited my old elementary school for a work project, and besides the fact that everything looked much smaller than i remembered it (i haven't been there in about 16 years), the distinct scents of the main office, hallways and classrooms came rolling back in full force. at that moment, it felt welcoming...it felt as if i had never left...and those scents had not changed in my mind at all over all these years.

as far as sounds go...there are so many that came to mind over this past week or so. the scent of my great-grandmothers house; which had a very unique aroma to it; but i assume smells just like that of everyone's great-grandmothers house. a pleasant and cooling thunderstorm that hit while on a campout in the middle of a blistering summer evening in middle school. the carnival type repetitive music playing in the background, a gentle grinding of the metal amusement rides as they move along their tracks, the landscape pebbles playfully crunching beneath the feet of dozens of little kids running from ride to ride at the kiddie park while attending multiple, multiple birthday parties. those are just a few of the sounds that seem to have made a permanent home within my head.

isn't it funny how we are able to remember such random and all to often useless little tid-bits of our lives, but we seem to fail to recall with any detail whatsoever things that we might actually classify as 'save until i delete' in our mental tivo. we are indeed strange and unique creatures. so, what are some of your pleasant childhood memories that are engrained in detail in your memory?