Strange Outings

I have these vague memories of spending time with strangers when I was a child. Actually, in some cases the memories are vivid. There were always different people, neat locations I never went to again, and odd tension between them and my mother. Try as I might, I really can't piece together what was happening.

One time my grandparents took us to this house somewhere in the general area. I somewhat think I know where it is, but every time I go to that location, I can never really find it. I know these people had money and lived on a hill in a brick house. It had a circle driveway and lots of pine trees.

I got the impression my mother was there to meet these people's son. I think maybe the son lived with them, but I'm not sure. It's just all so strange because maybe they were supposed to be on a date, but at the same time, my grandparents were there. I know that at some point, we watched a movie with used car salesmen who were putting naked women on the cars to sell them. If this WAS some kind of date, that's a very strange movie to watch with a woman and her little kids.

Another time happened when my mom had moved us to Colorado. We were with this couple who had two daughters. They left us outside and we were wandering around, perhaps an apartment complex? I know there were lots of duck ponds and fountains. I'm not sure what Mom was doing with these people. I remember she was tense, but trying to stay relaxed. I know she was trying to impress them. I also guess it didn't work because we never saw them again.

The strangest one and perhaps the one I wonder about the most is this friend she had when I was a kid. I don't remember who this friend was, but I know she had a son. I liked him and I think we would kiss each other, even though we had to be under 5 because my brother hadn't been born. We would also play connect four and listen to Alvin and the Chipmunks. He had blue superman PJs and we planned to get married when we were older. I don't even remember his name.

While the first two only happened once, I remember going to see this little boy and his mom a lot. There may have even been a routine to it. Then one day it stopped. That part doesn't surprise me, really. Other than maybe two people, my mom was really bad about making friends, then getting angry at them and never speaking to them again. Usually, they didn't do anything. It would just be one of those days when Mom's mental whatevers were worse than the other days and she would decide to be offended.

So yeah, in my childhood, there are quite a few of these disconnected memories where I have really clear insight into and then just blank spaces that would have given me some kind of context. At this point, there isn't even anyone to ask.