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Share One of Your Favorite Heartwarming Memories

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The thread about concerts reminded me of one summer when my father, my siblings, and I went to see The Beach Boys and The Temptations in concert. They held it in a giant, gorgeous park with a fountain in the middle. There was no actual seating, but we brought a blanket to lay out on, some snacks, some wine, and a few joints.

The bands didn't sound as good as they used to, but the tickets weren't expensive and hanging out with my family, sipping some rose, and singing along to "My Girl" (one of the first songs I can ever remember hearing and for many years as a kid thought the song was about me because they mention the month of May which is when I was born lolol) is a memory that seems so simple, but one that warms my soul. I hope I never forget that feeling.

I have multiple reminiscences aside from the one told here (and it's probably important I remind myself of them) but I will try not to clog the thread.

Responses can be whatever you want, they don't have to feature concerts or siblings or follow my train of thought. I just know a lot of people, myself included, enjoy hearing accounts of heart-warming experiences.

Thanks for reading and thanks in advance to any responses.
 

singing along to "My Girl" (one of the first songs I can ever remember hearing and for many years as a kid thought the song was about me because they mention the month of May which is when I was born lolol) is a memory that seems so simple, but one that warms my soul. I hope I never forget that feeling.

I'm a May birthday too! That's a good memory. Thanks for sharing it. :)

Some of the walks we went on as a family stick in my mind; images from these small journeys linger like hazy ships coming up out of a foggy sea:

My mom wearing an orange ski coat. My dad and his long strides. My sister cradled in one of their arms. The crisp air. It was a lovely place to take walks with the smell of pine needles always present and the sun disappearing over the tops of the trees in the afternoon. There were gentle hills and steep hills and the smell of beauty bark and sometimes, in the right places, the smell of the sea.

We used to take these long walks on roads that meandered back through the woods and I liked it best in the summer when the days seemed to last forever, and in the fall when the air was a little brisk and I could imagine the smell of a warm dinner cooking when I got back home: perhaps some kind of meat sauce with pasta, or some other comfort food.

It was on these long walks that I developed the walking stride and pace that I have now as an adult – my normal walking pace is possibly faster than most people prefer – because my father, a tall man, would lead us on these walks and I, too-short until I hit my late teens, had to hustle to keep up with him.

I still like these kinds of walks, though they are rare these days.
 
A lot of my fondest memories come from when i lived in Cali, even though i only lived a small part of my life there and it's been a long time since. Many of those memories came from going to the beach. I lived right by the coast and i went there a lot with my friends and family. Picnics, boogie boarding, building as big sandcastles as possible (even if the bigs ones fell apart fast), you know the deal. I remember one time where me and my friends as kids had a "seagull run" where we chased off seagulls that were close to people or were eating people's food. Our parents weren't happy about it, but i think we did the community a favor. :p
 
I was very sick one morning as a child and had a high fever. My Dad stayed home to take care of me while my little sis was at school and my Mom was at work. He got my fever down, then to cheer me up, took me to the mall. We played arcade games and ate pizza and ice cream and honestly, it was the best time I've ever had with my Dad to this day.
 
Aw, these are indeed heartwarming! Love the long family walks! That sounds beautiful. And DebonairDamsel, I totally relate! You made me think of a similar (good) memory of me and my Dad, him taking me to play arcade games, on visitation days! lol. Chasing the seagulls away.....good job! And making the best of an otherwise mediocre show because you're with family and singing along with great songs, no matter how they're performed....that sounds beautiful. :)

I don't know if THIS sounds as heartwarming to anyone else, but for me they're nice (and related) memories.

Before I could even talk, I was obsessed with music, and records, and right from the beginning I latched onto The Beatles, among a lot of other bands, but The Beatles were always tops. Everyone in my family knew this. Once I had to go to the hospital with a concussion and at first they refused to believe me because I was talking so lucidly and excitedly about The Beatles poster they had on the wall, lol. They're like, no, you don't understand, he's always like this.

So, I'm four years old, it's 1973, and I guess it's the Xmas holidays, my family is staying over my Grandparents', where my young aunts and uncles are.

At TWO IN THE MORNING, I get woken up by my Uncle. He must have been about 17, 18 years old. I rub my eyes, bleary....and he takes me downstairs...all the lights are off except for the glow of the TV, everyone's asleep. And he sits me down, and within a minute or two, "A Hard Day's Night" comes on the TV. He woke up to show me The Beatles' first movie. So I was mesmerized, lol. I had heard them, knew every note of every song, knew the track order for every album, I had alot under my belt already...... but had never seen actual film of them, walking and talking, or playing! In 1973, you had 13 channels, if you were lucky. Movies like "Wizard Of Oz"? They'd get shown ONCE a year, and it was a major occasion. "King Kong", same thing.

A movie like "A Hard Day's Night"? Or any of the other Beatles movies? They might show one every other year, every three years. Some never got shown at all. Most of the time they were shown in the dead of night. With virtually all movies, if you didn't catch them when they were played on TV, you had no other way to see them.

So I gotta love my Uncle for that, he knew that I would have flipped, and that this was possibly my only chance. I just couldn't believe my eyes, and he was obviously getting a kick watching me watch the screen ; that same uncle later bought me my first drumset, used to let me sit in with his bands, and then later, in the 80s, let me DJ in his clubs....the guy is the definition of an excellent uncle!

*****

A few years later, Christmas 1977, thereabouts.....this time it's the other side of my family, and this time they've come to OUR house. And this time, all my young aunts come out with my (very hip) Grandmother! (Think Mrs. Robinson, lol. Or Mad Men.) (She was a Jeopardy champ! 1971 or '72. :)) Anyways......"A Hard Day's Night" is on AGAIN. I hadn't seen it since I was four! So my two cool aunts, one was in college, the other almost out of high school), AND my Grandmother, stayed up and had a "sleepover" in my room, and we watched "A Hard Day's Night" on a little black and white TV. My Grandmother and my Aunts told me, during the commercial breaks, all about how it was to see it in the theater, how you couldn't hear half the dialog because of all the screaming in the movie theater, and how they went back over and over to see it. We made popcorn, and had a real night of it.

My mom was always doing that....if there was a great movie on....and it was on at 3 in the morning.....we'd have a big all-night "party" and watch "The Young Lions" or "Night Of The Living Dead" (two I remember). And sometimes "Saturday Night Live", the original cast, that was always a treat. We can stay up and watch SNL? Oh my god, going to school with that under your belt, at 8 years old, lol..... Thanks, Ma! Oh, and you made jello?!!!! :D

Anyways, those are cozy memories for me. Music and family related.
 
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Before I could even talk, I was obsessed with music, and records, and right from the beginning I latched onto The Beatles, among a lot of other bands, but The Beatles were always tops.

At TWO IN THE MORNING, I get woken up by my Uncle. He must have been about 17, 18 years old. I rub my eyes, bleary....and he takes me downstairs...all the lights are off except for the glow of the TV, everyone's asleep. And he sits me down, and within a minute or two, "A Hard Day's Night" comes on the TV. He woke up to show me The Beatles' first movie. So I was mesmerized, lol.

I love this. I was also obsessed with the Beatles, but that didn't come until 6th grade for me.

When I was young, I loved music, but I sort of didn't understand that there was new music. I knew there was everything from the 70s and before, and I thought Billy Joel and Paul Simon were the latest music there was. I assumed that somewhere the Beach Boys and the Monkees were still making albums too. I mainly listened to what my folks listened to, and they sorta skipped out on the whole 80s in terms of new music. I guess some part of me must have known there was other music - I saw movies, I heard soundtracks - but it didn't really click for me for a long time.

In 6th grade, I found out about the Beatles. I'd heard them before of course, but a buddy used to play me "I Saw Her Standing There" all the time and then I really got into them. I got so obsessed that my dad, who loved the Beatles, was turned off them for a while because I played them too much. I liked Hard Days Night, but Help was my favorite film. I used to quote it (still do on occasion) but no one ever knows what I'm saying and usually they just assume I'm a little odd. Which isn't necessarily untrue.

That same year, I found out there was new music: grunge. I was introduced to Soundgarden and Nirvana and Pearl Jam and the Screaming Trees and it was eye opening because this was new and happening and also a little bit subversive and I liked it. Of course, after that came the Goo Goo Dolls and the Gin Blossoms and the Counting Crows others of their ilk, and from then on I was much more aware of new music.
 
When I first got my dog Blossom, she had recently been rescued from a puppy mill, which are horrible places that I won't even describe. She was completely traumatized and she still shows signs of the harm that did to her to this day. And when I picked her up the woman who drove the dogs to NH from Tennessee where they'd been rescued took me aside and said "She shook and trembled the entire ride up. She wouldn't eat and she wouldn't go to the bathroom. We don't know if there's something wrong with her or what."

In other words, in a van full of recently rescued, traumatized dogs - she stood out. I was near the end of the line of people picking up their new pets and nobody else was pulled aside like that.

So I carefully carried her to my car and put her into the crate I'd bought for her and lined with baby blankets that Brighteyes1082 had given me for her, and I decided to just not bother her. I was quiet for the entire drive home, and I carried her into the apartment in the crate and just placed it in a corner with the door open so she could take her time.

I assumed she would stay in there for a long time and I was prepared to just wait, so I sat down in my chair to quietly read and give her a chance to decompress.

After only about two minutes, she turned up at the foot of the chair looking up at me with her big brown eyes, and she gave a little leap to jump onto the chair with me. She turned in a circle to find a comfortable spot to sit, and then placed her little chin on my thigh, staring up at me and letting me pet her.

It was an absolutely amazing moment in my life, I still get a little choked up thinking about that moment when she decided to let herself trust me.
 
It was an absolutely amazing moment in my life, I still get a little choked up thinking about that moment when she decided to let herself trust me.

That's a beautiful story. Thanks for sharing it. :) I always say you can tell a lot about a person by watching how they interact with animals, and how animals interact with them, so point in your favor there.
 
Here's a picture of her from her first day. See how it look like she doesn't have a tail? That's because when I first got her she was so traumatized that she not only kept her tail tucked between her legs, she had it permanently molded against the underside of her belly. It took days for that to unkink and begin to appear behind her, and weeks before she started to wag it.

Now she waves it around like a flag everywhere she goes :)


blossom1.jpg


and here she is, exhausted at the end of her first day at home.

blossom4.jpg
 
Also love all the family stories - long walks, learning about music, the sick day that turned into an adventure. Remembering those lil moments helps us get through the muck sometimes. Sadness is but a wall between two gardens.
 
I've lived a pretty happy life so far, with lots of highlights. My first trip to China, my graduation, the day I got married, as well as all the little things that happen over the course of normal daily life could be mentioned here.

If I had to pick one though, I think it would be the birth of my little sister. I was only 3 when my brother was born, so I don't remember much and was a bit oblivious of the importance of the moment. But I was 9 when she came to the world and I will never forget. The 9 months that preceded, then one night the phone call at my grandparents house. And after we drove to the hospital, here she was: 3.1 kilograms of boundless potential, tiny and fragile in my child arms yet so unbelievably CUTE :bubbleheart: I remember like it was yesterday my surprise at how light she felt. Her half-open eyes could not really see me but when I kissed her cheek she smiled and made a little squeak. This moment, right there, is possibly the single happiest one in my entire life. Whenever I feel down or depressed, I think about it and it makes me feel better.
 
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when I kissed her cheek she smiled and made a little squeak. This moment, right there, is possibly the single happiest one in my entire life. Whenever I feel down or depressed, I think about it and it makes me feel better.

That's lovely. Thanks for sharing that.
 
I've lived a pretty happy life so far, with lots of highlights. My first trip to China, my graduation, the day I got married, as well as all the little things that happen over the course of normal daily life could be mentioned here.

If I had to pick one though, I think it would be the birth of my little sister. I was only 3 when my brother was born, so I don't remember much and was a bit oblivious of the importance of the moment. But I was 9 when she came to the world and I will never forget. The 9 months that preceded, then one night the phone call at my grandparents house. And after we drove to the hospital, here she was: 3.1 kilograms of boundless potential, tiny and fragile in my child arms yet so unbelievably CUTE :bubbleheart: I remember like it was yesterday my surprise at how light she felt. Her half-open eyes could not really see me but when I kissed her cheek she smiled and made a little squeak. This moment, right there, is possibly the single happiest one in my entire life. Whenever I feel down or depressed, I think about it and it makes me feel better.

That's a beautiful story, man.

This was a great idea for a thread!
 
m9zWhUc.png


This is the thatched roof cottage home that me da' and uncle and aunts grew up in back on a farm in Ireland. No running water. No electricity. But it was home. The family had gotten an aerial picture of the land painted, but through emigrating to America and dad being homeless for 10 years, the painting had gotten lost.

I was able to track it down and gift it back to my father upon his first sober birthday back on his feet. He cried like a baby. And now so am I.
 
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I was able to track it down and gift it back to my father upon his first sober birthday back on his feet. He cried like a baby. And now so am I.

Sometimes life is sad and beautiful and lonely and happy all at once. It's amazing that you were able to track it back down. Thank you for sharing that. :)
 
Sometimes life is sad and beautiful and lonely and happy all at once. It's amazing that you were able to track it back down. Thank you for sharing that. :)

It's how the universe teaches us appreciation. :) <3 Thank you for reading and responding.
 
m9zWhUc.png


This is the thatched roof cottage home that me da' and uncle and aunts grew up in back on a farm in Ireland. No running water. No electricity. But it was home. The family had gotten an aerial picture of the land painted, but through emigrating to America and dad being homeless for 10 years, the painting had gotten lost.

I was able to track it down and gift it back to my father upon his first sober birthday back on his feet. He cried like a baby. And now so am I.

Oh my GOD, so beautiful.

I can't believe you tracked the painting down!!!! How the heck did you manage that??. There's a story to write!

Oh my god, and then giving it to your Dad...on his first sober birthday, oh I know what that is, and how much that must have meant to him. He's in recovery......and he recovers this lost painting. Of his home, back in Ireland, where he grew up.

Yup that's pretty heartwarming!!!! :)

Thanks so much for sharing it. Me? I just had a real crappy day. Now? After reading your story? Not so much! :)
 
m9zWhUc.png


This is the thatched roof cottage home that me da' and uncle and aunts grew up in back on a farm in Ireland. No running water. No electricity. But it was home. The family had gotten an aerial picture of the land painted, but through emigrating to America and dad being homeless for 10 years, the painting had gotten lost.

I was able to track it down and gift it back to my father upon his first sober birthday back on his feet. He cried like a baby. And now so am I.

Awww, this is indeed a beautiful moment :bubbleheart:

I am with The Internet here, the tracking down of the painting must be a story worth telling :makingalist: "Chicago: Relic Hunter" :D
 
It's not that exciting of a story. We thought it had been lost but was just in storage in my mom's attic.
 
It's not that exciting of a story. We thought it had been lost but was just in storage in my mom's attic.

I guess we were all expecting battles against Nazis, mysterious cyphers, double-crossings and the obligatory breaking into a guarded vault. See what the Indiana Jones flicks have done to our collective brains? :D

Still, you found it, so more power to you. And it's a very touching story anyway, especially for a nostalgic type like me :blush:
 
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