So...Just How Far Back Does YOUR Memory Go?

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I'm surprised by people who say that they only recall events after they turn five or six. I even heard one radio psychologist claim that brains younger than that simply haven't the ability to do retain anything but the most traumatic events, & even then, more often than not are forgotten. So why is it I remember many events from as early as my first yeah--even before I had speech, & most are not "traumatic," but mundane? And I've proven it to family members! Here's just one example: My Mother was quite sure I'd imagined having a yellow baby blanket with satin edges, but I could still remember it! It was square, & a soft, sunny yellow, & I loved it dearly. It gave me great comfort, & therefore, it was important to me, though she'd forgotten it even existed. One late Autumn day Mom & I were at my grandmother's farm, & we were taking out the stored quilts for the coming winter. They were stored in a giant steamer trunk in my Grandmother's bedroom, & I'd never opened it before. We removed a huge stack of Grandma's gorgeous home-made quilts, & another stack of blankets. Since it was a family reunion, this emptied out the who trunk. At the very bottom there was one more item. My beloved yellow baby blanket! I peeled it off the wooden board & ran to Mom, crying, "Here it is, Mother! This is the blanket you said I never had!" Mom looked dumbfounded. "Well, I'll be darned!" she said. "You were right! I remember, now...so that's where it wound up!" Of course, it could be argued that my losing it was "traumatic," & that's why I remembered it, but I have numerous events stored in my head of just everyday things, such as Mom giving me coloring books & showing me what to do, & one--before I knew speech, & before I was out of diapers (which went away by the time I was ONE)--when I recall Mom picking me up & turning around so that I suddenly had a view out the window. Outside lay several railroad tracks. I remember enjoying the closeness of our bodies as I peered over her shoulder. Years later I'm able to put words to something I didn't realize at the time. I also remembered a sound (unable to identify it then, or even know the word "sound"), I had no clue what it was I saw out of the window. But periodically I remember hearing a loud roar. I was too young to even conceive of being frightened by it. It just was. Now, of course, I know what the roar was: trains passing. They vibrated my whole body. But that's adult "after-knowledge." I don't really associate this memory with the trains except I observed that what I now know are "tracks" were just outside. In this memory, I was warm, loved & content. No trauma involved. I could give you lots more examples, but then my desk would tip over, & you'd quit reading. I just want to ask you this: What is the furthest back you can remember? I think perhaps the fact that I was a cesarean baby, & didn't get forced through the birth canal (talk about trauma! Why can't folks recall that!? ) might be a reason my memory goes back to a few months old. What do you think? Maggiepie "Never do anything you don't want to explain to the paramedics!" ~ Quote found by "Elic Behexen," fellow MyLotter & BFF