Oinkstee and Oinkster

One of the first things that I clearly remember is from when I was about 5 years old. My memories of events before then are fleeting and vague. I don't know if I remember them as my own experiences or just because I have been told the stories by my parents and older sisters so many times.

This memory is mine for sure.

ST and I shared a room. I was 5 and she was 7. We slept in twin beds with a little bedside table between us. On the ceiling, centered over us was a light fixture. It was a smooth, white bowl of glass and light hanging above us. At night, we kept our door half open and the hall light on to keep us safe from total darkness. The shadow fell across our own light fixture in such a way that made it look just like a half moon. We saw that there was a dark side and a light side to this bedroom moon.

We had very active imaginations and we used to pretend that we had these little tiny pet pigs that lived on our shoulders. Their names were Oinkstee and Oinkster. At night we would lie in bed and talk and giggle and just before we fell asleep we would send our little pet pigs up to the moon. We would call out warnings for them to stay away from the dark side and come back safely before morning.