When I was a little kid, I lucid dreamt almost every time I remembered a dream, about weekly. I rarely tried to manipulate my dreams, I just knew I was dreaming for typically part of the dream and almost always right before I woke up.
Alas, it did not last. My dream recall waned as I grew up to the point where I only remembered a dream monthly, then I had to start using an alarm to wake up six or so years ago. Since the alarm I've only remebered a tiny handful of dreams (most were partially lucid though, so that's a good thing).
I didn't know there was any way to increase dream recall or increase lucidity. I also thought my dreams were normal, that everyone got lucid and that no one dreamt very often. Five days ago I got into a conversation about dreams and realized mine weren't normal. It was the first time I heard the word lucid. Four days ago I typed "lucid dreaming" into Google and voila, here I am.
Now that I know I can reclaim my lost dreams I want them back! I'll post updates weekendly, whether or not weekendly is a word. Getting lucid is not too much of an issue (though it would be nice to get lucid a little earlier in the dream. It takes me a while), but dream recall is a big step I need to take.