About The Paul's Memories Of "Growing Up" Site

God gave us memories that we might have roses in December. ~J.M. Barrie

About Memories And This Site

Since I am old and will likely begin to forget things, I decided to dredge up memories and document them so I have a source to go back too. This is a work in progress, a little more is added all the time.

Here are some funny thoughts about growing up and having memories:

• Growing up is realizing your parents weren't "being dramatic" — they were just tired, broke, and surrounded by small unpaid roommates.

• Childhood memories are weird. You can't remember where you put your keys, but you can vividly remember the smell of your elementary school cafeteria on pizza day.

• As a kid, you thought adults had everything figured out. Then you became one and realized everyone is just Googling symptoms and pretending to understand taxes.

• Memories are funny because your brain saves the most random files:
First day of school: blurry.
Commercial jingle from 1978: crystal clear.

• Growing up means your idea of excitement changes from "sleepover!" to "I found a parking spot close to the entrance."

• Childhood felt endless. Summer vacation seemed like three years long. Now a month disappears if you blink near a calendar.

• Having memories is like owning a photo album edited by a drunk librarian. Some important moments are missing, but you definitely remember one embarrassing thing you said in 1986.

• When you're young, you think old people talk too much about the past. Then you get older and realize the past had better music, cheaper candy, and fewer passwords.

• Growing up is discovering that "because I said so" is not a parenting strategy — it's a survival tool.

• The older you get, the more your memories come with sound effects: creaky knees, old TV theme songs, and your mother yelling your full name from another room.

• Childhood memories always have a golden glow, even if half of them involved itchy clothes, bad haircuts, and being told to "go play outside" like you were a household appliance.

• Growing up means realizing that naps were never punishment. Naps were a gift, and we were too foolish to appreciate them.