Places That Remind Me of My Childhood: Kuhl's Campground

When I was younger, we had a camper for about six months. Unfortunately, it got torn to pieces by a tornado and we were out of a camper for good. But, while we had it, I remember going to this campground a couple of times and one time sticks out particularly in my mind. It was one summer when I was probably about 10 or 11 and I remember having my cousin there with me. (The one mentioned in a previous post). We had our bikes there with us and we rode them around the campground, which was pretty small, but for us it was huge. We also rolled down this really steep hill and got super dizzy, which is always a fond memory of mine. We also met an older couple who had two dogs that we loved to go over and play with numerous times throughout our stay at the campground. Even though I only went there a couple of times as a child, I still drive by it and get hit with a huge wave of nostalgia and memories of my childhood. 

Places That Remind Me of My Childhood: My Grade School

The grade school that I went to, St. Thomas School, holds many memories for me. I attended 2nd-8th grade at this school and seeing it now is almost bittersweet. It is a private Catholic school, and one of my biggest memories was going to church every Friday. Sometimes I liked this, most of the time I didn’t because not a lot of young people enjoyed going to church. I also remember how small my class was, only 14 people, and how the girls and boys would always sit at separate tables from each other. The lunches (most of them) were always really good because the food was homeade by the cooks. One of my less fonder memories was having to follow a strict dress code, which included not being able to wear shoes without backs, such as flip flops. This was very annoying, but I dealt with it with a grain of salt. The best memory I have is during reading time and getting to go the library and pick out a book. This was always the best part of everyday. During the younger grades, I spent a lot of time on the playground, which was refurbished when I was in 3rd or 4th grade and the new one was much more exciting. I’ll never forget the time I spent at that school.

Places That Remind Me of My Childhood: The Cow Pasture

The cow pasture is back behind my grandparent’s house and you have to walk down a long trail to get to it. Often, we would ride the many bikes that were available in the shed down to the pasture and into the woods, subsequently getting mosquito bites and scratches in the process because the grass was so tall. The pasture used to house cows a long time ago, but were presumably sold after my grandparents retired from farming. My memories, like I stated above, include riding bikes back there and just doing general exploring through the pasture and back into the woods. This always resulted in some form of terror as we usually found deer skulls which were super creepy and other ominous things. It was a wide open field that was always so much fun to play in.

Places That Remind Me of My Childhood: The Swing Sets

The swing sets are also at my grandparent’s house, in their backyard, and they also hold many memories for me. The first swing set, like the playhouse, is very old and very rusty. The frame of it is blue, but it has many spots where it has rusted and the paint has chipped off. To me, this makes it more special and genuine, as it holds a lot of wear and tear from the use that my cousins and I got out of it. This swing set had the swings for the babies and toddlers and I have many memories of pushing them and playing. The other swing set had a metal frame, but the swings were wooden and these were for the older kids, like me. I remember swinging on it with my cousins super high and trying to jump off.

Places That Remind Me of My Childhood: The Playhouse

The playhouse that I used to play in as a child is also at my grandparents house, as a lot of these things will be because it is the place that most reminds me of my childhood. It was built a long time ago for my Aunt Teresa when she was a child, so I’d say it was probably built in the early 1970’s. When I was a child, the playhouse was about 30 years old, but I still absolutely loved playing in it with my cousins. It was dirty and old, but still held incredibly special memories for me. My cousins and I would play house and school in it with our dolls and fake silverware and plates, but would always be so scared that wasps or spiders would get us because it had cobwebs and wasps nests in it from being outside. Nevertheless, it was a very important part of my childhood.

Places That Remind Me of My Childhood: My Grandparents' House

When I think of the majority of my childhood, I think of my grandparent’s house. I spent the majority of my time there and always remember a sense of excitement when I knew I’d be going there, whether it was just for a visit or a holiday get together. A tradition for my family every year during the holidays, whether it be Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas, we would all get together to celebrate it. This is on my dad’s side of the family, which is huge, so it was a lot of people in a tight space, but it was always something I loved. It contributed to the extremely happy childhood that I experienced and I still and enjoy and visit frequently as an adult.

Places That Remind Me of My Childhood: My Old House

My old house is definitely a place that reminds me of my childhood. I lived there from 2004-2017 and I had many fun experiences and memories in that house. The first picture reminds me of when I'd come outside and sit on the deck and watch my parents work in the yard. We also had a pool that I'd swim in and I remember one year we had a swimming party for my dad's side of the family. Although I'm older in the second picture, this wooded area that we had behind our house was a place that I often frequented. I'd play back in this area with my friends or even by myself among the trees. I'd also play with our dog in this area and we often enjoyed a fire pit back here as well, with hot dogs and s'mores. It's only been since last year that I moved out, but I'll never forget the impact that living here had on my childhood.