Reliving Childhood Memories

My brother and I discussed a family vacation to Yellowstone National Park. He couldn't remember my even being there. I remembered he and my cousin got spanked after continually teasing me when I was talking to the Boy Scout group camped in front of us.

It was a summer when I was telling people I was 14. That meant I was 12 or 13. I'd become fully developed at 12, so often told people I was a couple of years older. I remember I talked with an exaggerated drawl for the Boy Scouts, too.  I can still remember the name of the one I had the crush on.

We both remembered the incident with the bear trying to break into our VW Beatle. We were asleep in the tent my family and my cousin's family shared when suddenly my father started yelling and waving his arms. I thought he'd gone crazy. He managed to drive off the bear before it damaged our car.

My brother remembered a bear wandering around the campsite and how he walked around the VW to keep it away. Even at 8 or 9 years old, he knew the bear could have gone over the car. While that should have made an impact on me, I don't remember anyone being in danger on the trip.

I'm constantly amazed at how differently we remember the same events. Whether it's the boy/girl difference or the 4 year age difference, we seem to pick up on different aspects.

Have you compared memories with your siblings? Were they different or similar?