O Time in thy flight
Make me a child again,
Just for tonight!
(Elizabeth Akers Allen, 1860)
Do you ever have those days when being a grown-up is just really not fun? Those days when you have to talk to crazy people; when you have to be all serious and responsible with your teenager; when the cat and dog try to trip you everywhere you go; when you have to fold laundry, wash dishes, and feed the kids? Sometimes I just don't feel like doing it all. See this picture above? That's what I want to be doing: climbing on a rickety ladder onto a rickety swing set with my childhood friends Kim and Karen. Watching my brother Stephen flip over the bar. See that first tree in the yard--the one with the nearly horizontal trunk? Probably next we were headed over to hang out in that tree. We spent a lot of time in that tree. We weren't thinking about all the things we had to do before we could go to bed. We were mostly wondering if we should play house or baby dolls or Barbies. At the worst, we might have been wondering if Dawn McNamara was going to come and throw our Barbies in the creek again.
This is what we have to make sure of: that our children have a solid store of good memories on which to draw. That they can remember the smell of a wet day and the feel of a tree trunk on their palms. That they can look at an old photograph and almost remember the comfort of that very ordinary day.
Comments
Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Lindsay
LOVE LOVE LOVE the poncho's. I had a red tartan one too!!!!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - I hear you!
Posted by joyunspeakable
Oh you read my heart perfectly. That is the balance I strive for ...doing what they have to do mixed with lots of fun. Trying to remember that it is okay for fun to come first sometimes. Right now...all my kids plus their friend are playing rock band. They are sing, drumming and guitaring all the while using impressive problem soloving skills and negotiating like payed professionals.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - oh I think those thoughts so often
Posted by jenmcintyre
Both wishing I could turn back time (for a moment) and hoping my children will have a good collection of memories from childhood, like planting seeds and digging up earth worms, snuggling up with a book (or a good movie) playing in the streams along mountain trails......
Wednesday, February 27, 2008 - Hi Friend!
Posted by Anonymous
Yep. I have those days quite often.LOL
Kysha
http://humblemama.blogspot.com
Wednesday, February 27, 2008 - Great old photograph
Posted by Jennifer in OR
Well, that brings back a flood of memories, somehow. Very 70s looking childhood! That old tree is awesome! I have a certain childhood tree that is so vivid in my mind - as my dear friend and special place. How funny that a tree holds such a tender place in my heart. I wonder if it's still there.
www.diaryof1.com
