1. Twitter, do you mind if I work through a little something of a personal/psychological nature here? Go ahead and mute if you don’t want to deal with this. It’s a lovely day. Go outside for a bit.
(waits)
OK. Here we go.

2. We’re doing some cleaning around the house, and my wife found a stuffed animal she had growing up. This made her happy, and yet I got sad. Why?

Here’s where it gets dark.

3. I was sick for a week when I was in 8th grade. Some weird high fever. After that happened, it’s like I lost 90% or more of my childhood memories.

4. I didn’t forget what I’d learned, at all. But the number of “remember when we did this?” types of memories absolutely cratered.

5. A few things about family cars, a couple of events, but mostly...nothing.

6. Thing is, I’m not sure there were that many to begin with. I’m the youngest of four. My parents were in their late 30s when I was born.

7. I look at home movies of my older siblings and it’s like a completely different family. Reader, my parents were broke and tired when I came along.

8. I won’t go into the religious aspect of things either. Suffice it to say that things that would have helped me quite a lot were simply never going to happen.

9. It wasn’t an abusive or neglectful childhood. I want to make that absolutely clear.

10. But looking back, I’m not even sure it was a childhood at all. All I did was read, it seems like. Which is fine - I rather like reading.

11. But then I see my wife filled with joy when she found this stuffed animal, and it saddened me. I have no icon, no talisman that reminds me of my youth. I’m not even sure I had one.

12. Sorry to get maudlin. I just needed to throw this into the ether.

13. I love history. Maybe it’s because I have so little of my own.

14. I know we went to Disney World twice. I’ve seen the pictures. The only memories I have of it are the second trip (when I was 10), and then just two or three things.

15. And what memories I do have are likey there because I did something wrong or stupid. So that does wonders for the ol’ self-image.

16. I don’t know, Twitter. I just don’t know. But I’ll keep trying.

17. Thanks, as always, for listening.