Childhood Memory

My entire life has been filled with exciting times, expensive gifts, and travels throughout the world. While such things are very enjoyable, and living with a family that is able to do these types of activities whenever they want is as well, there are always some memories that tend to stick with you more than others. One favorite memory could be my first trip to Italy, France, Germany, or Ireland. Others could include Birthday and Christmas gifts such as a Fountain 42 Lightning cruiser, or a Sea Doo RXP, amongst many other vehicles and the like, and any of these things could be considered to be the most amazing highlights of most ordinary people’s lives, however once things like this become the norm for everyday living, the excitement is not dampened, but the feeling of how special something truly is becomes more difficult to understand. Keeping the stories of such wealth quiet or, in my case, anonymous, is one of the best ways to prevent one from getting the feeling of misrepresented self-importance. This is exactly what I have done for as long as I can remember, and it is entirely due to the teachings of my family who have been keeping our affluence quiet for many generations.

It is because of these “lessons” that I have been able to retain the views of what is truly important in life: family. As such, my most cherished, non-material memory is when I learned that my sister, married for several years, was about to have a child. She was thirty four at the time, and I was eight. Needless to say, aside from school, I had grown up without any kind of sibling or person my age that was related to me, and the prospect of becoming an Uncle was something I saw as a great blessing. When he was born, and I was able to go to see him for the first time with my parents a few days afterwards, I can see now that I have never looked forward to something as much as I did the day I got to meet my first nephew. This joy was not to be forgotten at all; indeed it was renewed when, about five years later, my sister had another son. I am always very grateful for the incredibly privileged life I live, however I am never as appreciative of this as I am the opportunity to be an Uncle, and hopefully a good role model, for my two nephews.