Childhood Memories

Ah, another meme! Gina over at Just Another Day says she'll be sobbing at night into her pillow if I don't play along. Those SoCal girls are so sensitive. I dislike making people cry, especially nice folks like her. So Gina, this one's for you.

First, the rules to this meme game: Remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place; add your blog's name in the #5 spot; link to each of the other blogs for the desired cross pollination effect.

1. -A- http://motherswork.blogspot.com
2. Heather http://outloudvoice.blogspot.com
3. Suzanne http://mimilou.blogspot.com
4. Gina http://objustanotherday.blogspot.com
5. Suzanne http://lifethesuburbs.blogspot.com

Next: select new friends to add to the pollen count. No one is obligated to participate. (Edited by me to add: I, unlike Gina, will not sob into my pillow at night should you choose not to play. No no no, I'll just let silent tears roll down my face and try not to drown in them. Yeah right. Sure I will.)

1. Lisa http://weese.blogspot.com/
2. SassyFemme http://lifeofsassyfemme.blogspot.com/
3. Jennifer http://chapternext.typepad.com/open_book/
4. Kristina http://www.kristinawright.com/
5. BentFabric http://www.bentfabric.blogspot.com/

Let the game begin!

What 5 things do you miss about your childhood?

I miss:

1. Being not-in-charge. What a carefree and clueless existence I had back then. Oh sure, I had chores and obligations such as school. But my mother told me what chores to do and usually when. I was a compliant student and just went with the flow. I had no worries about mortgages, college tuition, what to eat for dinner, pets and parents growing old, the state of our country, broken washing machines, etc. etc. etc. I miss the carefree nature of my childhood. I miss not having to make so many decisions with so much riding on said decisions. I miss being not-in-charge.

2. Visiting my grandparents in Montgomery, Alabama. Family road trips are the stuff of which good memories are made. My sister and I would squabble in the backseat of our Ford sedan. Other times we'd play nicely. We'd get to spend the night in a hotel. Back then I believed the difference between motels and hotels was that motels didn't have bathrooms. Where did I ever get that idea? Then came the luscious creamy center: my grandparents. Both sets of grandparents lived in Montgomery, on opposite sides of the tracks. I was not in tune to class differences back then and never noticed. I'll share a few things I miss from our visits with each set.

My mom's folks: My grandfather owned a gas station. We never went there, but I remember driving by once. Rumor has it he really wanted to be a farmer, but adopted suburban life to please my grandmother. He had a huge garden and loved tending it. They also had two or three huge fig trees in their backyard. I miss picking figs right off the tree and eating them with my grandfather at my side. I also miss fresh figs in a bowl, halved and doused in half-n-half, a regular staple of breakfast there. We always seemed to visit with the figs were ripe. I miss my grandmother's fig preserves. She'd can them whole and I'd eat them on heavily buttered toast. We always got to take some home. I miss the way my grandmother covered her mouth when she giggled. I miss the way a visit with my grandfather always meant a trip to McDonald's for cheeseburgers.

My father's parents: Granny and Pop lived on a street named Magnolia Curve. Yes, the street came by its name due to the magnificent magnolia trees. They had a cool backyard, rather a jungle of a garden. Rumor has it my father used to shoot squirrels out there as a youth. My sister and I enjoyed exploring. We also enjoyed exploring an outbuilding, a garage plus some other rooms. There were all sorts of crap interesting items in there. I miss Alice's fried chicken and family meals in the dining room. We never had to do the dishes there. They had a bed in a guest room that had big ornamental wooden balls adorning the footboard. I miss perching on those balls and pretending I was a creature, like a rooster or a pterodactyl. (And I would do it now given the opportunity.)

3. The way we used to just let our dog Mutt outside, no leash, no fence, no nothing. She'd mostly stay in the yard or at most wander into the neighbor's yard and back again. Their dog did the same thing. (The neighbor's dog was named was Pixie. Pixie came to a truly unfortunate end when their teenage son with his brand spanking new driver's license ran her over in their driveway. Oh the scars that must have left on him! Can you imagine?) I miss walking Mutt around the neighborhood, again sans leash because she always stayed close by. Neighbors back then didn't mind a little dog walking through their yard to explore a bit.

4. Riding my bike to the neighborhood swimming pool. My sister and I would hang out there all day in the summer, swimming, diving, playing shuffleboard. I miss the vending machines and reveling in having enough change to buy a grape Nehi and a Zero candy bar. (One day a little squirt named Jimbo B slipped on the high dive and knocked out his upper teeth on the board on his way down. Ouch. Talk about a bloody mess! The pool was closed for a day after.) I miss seeing my name on the large plaque celebrating the swim team record holders. I was the 8 & Under champion in freestyle for a good long while. (Yes, I peaked early. I wonder who holds that title now?)

5. Seemingly unlimited time to read. I miss climbing the big willow tree in our back yard toting a pillow and a book, spending quiet hours nestled where the branches forked high up in the tree. I miss reading under the covers with a flashlight after lights-out and rarely being asked to stop. I miss having someone else worry about library fines.


I had it pretty good as a child. It was difficult to keep this list to only five items. I'd better go thank my Mom and Dad, don't you think?

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