What are 5 childhood memories that you’re grateful for?

• I have mentioned this one before and it is a beloved memory. Though I’d love for all my relatives to sit together at a large table or several tables and have the best foods and drink and have a great time, the ones that really stand out from my childhood is when we were in Kuwait. Usually in my family’s apartment but occasionally at my uncle’s, we would sit together in front of the tv watching a good movie or tv show and eat family style, either shawarma, fallafils, kuboos and hummus or KFC bucket chicken. I can almost see us – little me with my sis, dad, mom, mom’s brother my uncle and his wife as well as my cousin sister – sitting on the sofas or on the floor and enjoying the meal.
• I had to check with my sister about this but I remember going a few times to a big supermarket, grocery store and retail goods. I am not sure but I think we only went there a few times during our time there. I distinctly remember a couple of trips with my uncle & aunt and a few times just my dad, mom, sis & me in a taxi (since we didn’t have a car). I especially loved buying comics and kids books from their large book store, music cassettes, toys from their extensive collection (second only to Toys R US) and chocolates. I loved that place and every visit was an awesome experience.
• My dad once took me to the revolving restaurant at the Kuwait towers. I don’t remember what we went there for; if memory serves me correctly he went to meet with a colleague or someone from the same banking sector that he worked for and since it was a casual meet for a long lunch, he took me along. My sister was in India at the time and hence she didn’t join us. It was a wonderful experience and I got to sit at the window seat.
• Going to Entertainment city for the very first time. Entertainment City is a theme park in Kuwait and since we lived there until 1987, the year I turned 11, one of our highlights was going to the place and having fun on bumper cars, rollercoaster rides, log rides, etc etc. They also had tie ups with major fast food chains like McDonalds, KFC and others in their food court so if you want to rest and feeling hungry, then you can eat and drink and relax in between. I think we’ve been there only twice but they were a lot of fun.
• Back in India, going on a few trips with my cousins, hanging out with them and playing games, listening to music all day long and watching movies that we all pick and want to watch as a group – those were some of the best summer holidays (and Onam & Christmas too) memories I can ever think of. They were the best moments of our lives.

Prompt from DAILY JOURNALING PROMPTS – JANUARY 2022 @ The Kraft PLanner