a simple childhood memory
Posted on 24 July 2008
Do you guys sometimes find yourself mesmerizing and reminiscing about your past, maybe a particular moment in your childhood? A time when all things in the word were unimportant and everything was oh so wonderful, a time when you are so carefree, and can laugh about anything that is funny or not? Maybe a childhood memory such as a childhood game or a place you loved as a child or the people you were around?
I remember, as a child, I had had one of those simple childhood lives. I remember back in the days, as a child me and all my childhood friends, who of course all lives in the same apartment complex would run around playing few of our favorite games. Do you guys remember when you used to play House? Or as we love to call it as a child “Niam Tais thaib yawm Txiv” which means “Grandma and grandpa” on the mother’s side, it was always how we called it when we were playing House. How about when you used to play rocks? Funny, but I used to love that game I actually was one of the best. Or do you remember playing Chinese jump rope? I too, was one of the best player. Maybe a game of hiding goes seek, how about tag and robbers? Or maybe sing along to some of your favorite songs and dance to them? Or picking our favorite wild flowers, and blossoms?
I was only around 5-7 years old then, my life was great, we were not rich, we had only been in the States for at least 1-3 years, life was simple, and life was good. The family was on welfare; my father was trying to go to school so that he can soon be able to fully support the family and also doing a part time job, my mom just stayed home to take care of the kids. As a child I never knew how it was to be able to support the family, all I knew was, helped my mom with whatever is needed, look after my baby brother and sister while my mom was cooking, and then after we ate, I would run outside to play with the neighborhood kids. We all were too young then to worry about anything. We would play our games until night falls, by the time I get back home, dinner was ready, I would eat, take a bath (we didn’t believe in shower’s then) and then go to bed. If on the weekdays, our days would consist of waking up, go to school, come home, do homework and then off we go to play with the neighborhood kids and then come home, eat dinner, wash up and back to bed it was.
The apartment complex that we were living at was full of Hmong people so we hardly had to speak English. Our games were only well known Hmong games, our stories we told were as well only Hmong stories. I remember our apartment complex was next to a river which floods almost every year during the raining season. Between the apartment complex and the river was a walkway that was build pretty high which prevent the apartment from getting any of the floods, we as kids loves to run around that walkway and tell ghost stories, most of the ghost stories were about the person who had drown at that river during the floods or about a figure with long white hair, in a long white robe walking along the walkway and the river when night comes. We were not scared but were actually very excited. When night falls everyone would run home but before we do so, we always declared, “Last one home will be captured by the ghost tonight”. Of course that never happened.
Every summer when the straw grass from the river valley would grow taller than us kids we would go down there and play our games of “Niam Tais thai Yawm Txiv” instead of being at our normal place at the apartment complex. We would some how tie the tip of the grass together leaving a big space in the inside and then clear out the insides and live in there. It would look like a mini village, and we would even turn those straws grasses into flutes, the sound was beautiful, but our straw flutes didn’t last too long. We still enjoyed it as much as we can though.
There were no such thing as gang members, it was very simple, everyone was friends, and we all got along well. Her friend was my friend, his cousin was my friends, and we kids were like a tight knitted family. When we get into arguments we somehow reconcile among ourselves then we became best friends again.
Soon enough all our lives started to change. One friend moved away, and then another and soon enough we all moved far away from our beloved apartment complex where we all loved to play. We were kids we didn’t know what it meant to keep in touch. We never knew that existed. As we went our own ways, names were forgotten, faces went unrecognized and the wonderful life of our childhood somehow just started to disappear as we all went our own separate ways. I moved down to the south side of Stockton, some moved farther down south, some up north, even out of states.
I was able to meet few of the kids from my childhood, only we were all grown up now. Many of them had changed, I myself had changed. From the ones I’ve met again after many years, one got married at an early age (not surprised when it comes down to being Hmong, Hmong teenagers tends to get marry young starting at age 14). Few got involved in the Gang life, (mostly the males). One happened to moved to Georgia, and lived at the same apartment complex as I did at the time, but our childhood connection was gone, we grew up separately, so we now have nothing in common. She then told me about the few childhood friends that she met from time to time. One of course again, got married early, one got married to someone who can be of age as her dad, we also heard of one passing away due to drowning in a river while skipping school another married and divorce. But yet again, I never kept in touch with any of them. That was when we were in our teens. Now we are all adults, and again, we all lost contact of each other, names were forgotten faces gone unrecognized but we were still left with the beautiful memories of our childhood, a memory that I would never forget. I still find myself singing to some of our favorite songs every now and then. Those were the few precious memories I had of being a kid. Those were the moments of my life that I most enjoyed. Those were my simple childhood life.
One day, I wish to go back to that same apartment complex, that same city, that same state and re-walk my child memories.
3 responses to a simple childhood memory
mozemoua, that’s interesting story, was that Stockton, CA? and how many brother and sister do you have?
We have a large population of Hmong in our area, most moved from CA and they used to have their festival at the fairground, but now I heard that they purchased their own land not too far away from me, and have the festival there. The Lao lady that I spoke to is impressed, it’s amazing that the Hmong is a tight knit community that stick together, sadly not like the Lao community here, everyone sort of live their own lives, and I believed that unity means progress and preservation of ones culture better.
I used to live at the apartment complex in Brooklyn, NY when I was little, and we had different groups of people living there, all moved away the last that I heard, many of the kids were from Laos, Vietnam, China, and Cambodia. I still keep in touch with my childhood friends, 2 via email (Lao and Chinese) and have a get together if I were in the area (NY), and a guy from Vietnam that his mom owns a Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown, NY, I’d stop by to see him every time but not to eat because his mom wouldn’t charge us money and I feel bad, his mom loves us because 2 of my sisters, and his sisters are best friends. That’s the good old day; it’s nice just to think about it.
Wow, was just dropping by to say that I updated…I used to blog about my feelings, well, I do it on MySpace…I’m open with that kind of stuff…but with lakorns and Chinese tv series, that’s kind of my guilty pleasure that I get very passionate and indignant about…I take some things more personally than real life…
But I can relate with the keeping in touch thing…for me, either my friends moved or I did…but my childhood wasn’t as simple as it should’ve been, so I don’t like to think about it. One of my childhood best friends found me on MySpace, 12 years later, and now we’re really good friends…which I’m very lucky to have, because good friends are really hard to find these days…My family has moved so much since we came to America from Cambodia, and we used to live in Georgia too, but not very long.
awwwwwwwww…omg..bring me back to those funnie memories..while living in “CONWAY”we were so fobby.lols.but, i think i was a baby when we lived in the comlex,. right..cause i don’t remember..yes, i was a baby, i saw those picture of mom holding me in front of those apartment complex..=]
..ze..i like this subject right here..me miss you too now..i miss playing house with you..hey if u comer over this weeknd, we should play house..muahah…sound cool?? i bet..lols..ok bye bye..i finally drop bye zebo..oh and yes, the internet work in my room now..ahah..yes. ok bye bye moze moplee..lols..ahah..
i love you sister…=]