My First Night at the Pocono Mountains

Last week I told a story that occurred when I was five years old. My friend Cheryl commented that she couldn't believe that I could remember things from such a young age. I have no idea why I have always had such a vivid memory of details, but the truth is, I actually remember a trip our family took to the Pocono Mountains on my parents' 10th wedding anniversary. That would have been a month before my 2nd birthday! I know you might think I just remember it because of pictures or stories that others in the family have told. Not so. There are no pictures of that trip, and one of my most vivid memories is of something that no one else could have told me. And that will be my story for this week.

My First Night at the Pocono Mountains

When my parents got married in October 1943 they went to the Pocono Mountains for their honeymoon. Ten years later it was a natural destination to celebrate their anniversary. However, a second honeymoon it was not! This time they had four children in tow, Janet (8), Dick (7), Mary Ellen (6), and me (not quite 2). Actually, now that I think about it, I suppose Doris was along on that trip as well, since she was born five months later!

Most of our activities of that weekend are beyond the grasp of my memory. But not all of them. I am quite sure we visited at least one of the waterfalls that the Pocono Mountains are so famous for, because I clearly remember standing on a wooden bridge and watching the rushing water underneath it. I also remember entering the cabin that we spent the night in. There were two rooms. The main room had two double beds in it and the other had one bed. Against the wall leaned a wire bed spring, and we decided it was the perfect place to keep our pinwheels. My siblings have told me that I turned the water on at the bathroom tub and got an unexpected shower, which made me cry. At bedtime we three girls had to sleep in the one bed, my brother got to have one to himself, and my parents slept in the other room.

Now here's the part that no one else could have told me. I very vividly remember waking up during the night and thinking that I did not like sleeping with my sisters. I sneaked out of the bed in the dark, walked to my parents' room, climbed up on their bed, and crawled in between them. I liked it there a whole lot better, all cozy and secure. But alas, to my great disappointment, it wasn't the middle of the night after all. It was early morning, and my dad, accustomed to rising early to milk cows, soon got up for the day.

That memory is so clear that I can hardly believe it myself that I was just a toddler at the time! Now if only my memory worked that well for things that are really important!!