February TIF challenge

This month the challenge is about our earliest memories - I have quite a few of these . However there is always the problem about my earliest memories - did I really remember things from when they actually occurred? or do I just remember the stories that were repeated over the years.

I can certainly remember World War II in Cairns, where we were very lucky- no attacks, just air raid sirens that went off necessitating a retreat to our air raid shelters. The shelter was usually just a big trench covered with a piece of roofing iron. We had a lovely one in our back garden. As well as shelters all homes had brown paper covering the glass on the windows - it was important to ensure no light was visible at night. The night sky must have been a wonderful sight with no interference. The schools in Cairns were closed in 1940s so I started my lessons by correspondence.

My first reading book is still imprinted on my memory. "A is like an apple on a twig - a says 'uh' ". Then there were the ration books and coupons which were still in use in 1947 - amazing that Australia needed to ration food - I remember reading that the rationale behind that decision was that as much as possible was sent to Britain. War parcels to relatives living there were important. My husband who grew up on a farm remembers his mother sending, with fruit cakes and other food, preserved eggs in milk tins (the eggs were well protected with fat) to his grandmother in England. No doubt the rendered beef fat was also received with thanks - eggs and butter were in very short supply, I gather, in the Old Country.

However I have decided that I don't really want to use these images for the challenge. At my age I am fascinated by memories and how important they can become. In early and midlife one can be much too busy living to spend much time with memories. Another interesting thought is how the very earliest memories for some people can become the most vivid.

So instead of taking on this challenge literally I would like my design to demonstrate the way memories, especially the earliest, can impinge upon our thoughts over a lifetime.