A Prompt About A Childhood Room

 
"Think about a memory attached to a specific room in your childhood home.Write about the feelings

and/or lessons you extracted from it that anchor you even in the present day."

 

We lived at 3515 Folsom Street in East Los Angeles.  It was a low income area mostly hispanic and second generation (nisei/Japanese) families.  Our home was modest with a living room and dining room, a fairly large kitchen and two small bedrooms.  I shared a bedroom in the early years with my grandmother and my aunt. My grandmother's bed and mine almost filled the room. There was a roll away fold up bed in the closet. At night we'd roll the bed out and it filled up the rest of the room. You could not open the door when my aunts bed was open. It was a very tight fit. When I was around 11 or 12 my grandmother and myself were had the bedroom to ourselves as my aunt had moved to her own apartment by then.  The head of my bed was at a window with very sheer white curtains. In the summer at around 4:00 I liked to sit on my bed with the window open and the slight summer breeze would lightly blow the curtains. I would play my little transistor radio (it was turquoise) and I'd listen to music. I loved to daydream (I still do) or write in my diary. It felt wonderful, peaceful and happy. I loved the light as the sun was setting. It was a golden hue.  My bedroom had flower wall paper. My blanket was a white chenille cover in a flowery pattern.  I loved that small room. It felt cozy and safe and with the curtains blowing softly it felt somehow romantic. At the end of my bed was a small dresser that belonged to my grandma. On top of it were tiny perfume bottles that she collected. Her favorite perfume was Chanel No. 5.  To this day when I smell that fragrance I think of my grandmother.