Isn't it nice to sit and think on all the good parts of your childhood? I was just being quiet, thinking about some of my favorite childhood memories. My brother and me, playing together as young children... batman and robin! I was always Robin... we had a little red plastic phone that we would pretend to get important calls for help on, and go shooting through the house, saving the day. Or in the summertime when we would go out back to the little creek that ran through the neighborhood, wading in the water, picking up tadpoles and leeches! And being out in the warm air with our mom, helping her pick the wild blackberries that grew at the fence line... then having them for dessert that night with milk and sugar.
And when we came to Albion to live, and the friendships I had, and still have! One of my friends and my favorite memory was friday nights after school, when I would bring a friend home on the bus after school and they would play and stay for home made pizza and chocolate chip cookies that my mother always made for us. Every other Friday was mine. Matt had the other Fridays... It was something I always looked forward to. I can imagine as I'm older now, my mother probably didn't look forward to those Fridays as we did! She did all of the work!
Summertime at the homestead was always fun too... mom would allow our "neighborhood kids" (our neighborhood was MILES WIDE, because we lived out in the country) to come over to play outside. We would go "down the laneway" where the farmers would drive their tractors in and out to plow, plant and harvest the corn fields that surrounded our house. We would ride bikes, play in the muck, find the tadpoles in the deep ruts that the tractors left. We would play with my brother and his friends, but they played rougher. There was a huge hill of untilled dirt where the Canadian geese nested, and where we would climb and get scratched up and filthy... good times!
I know I had a good childhood. I think back and remember that I always felt safe. I was always surrounded by love. We had a roof over our heads, food on the table, a stable family life. We had church and most of my parents' friends were from church. They didn't socialize much, but those were their friends - good friends. Quality friends. We didn't have everything. Looking back, I know that my parents struggled financially. The things I remember mom making for dinner proved that in years past. Hamburger bread: hamburger spread on white bread triangles, baked in the oven. Hot dogs and peppers in sauce: Green peppers, hot dogs, and Ragu. On pay days (Fridays) my dad would bring home a big loaf of Italian bread, a 1 pound block of real butter, and a jar of pepperochini. He loved those things! That was his splurge. If dinner wasn't enough for him, I remember him always having a piece of white bread with peanut butter to satisfy his lingering hunger. We didn't eat well, but we did... We were healthy and happy. That was enough.
We weren't scared of the world back then. We didn't have to jump through hoops to get our friends on our bus to come home with us. We didn't worry about predators lurking around waiting for us to be alone. There was none of that... we stayed outside until dark every night... no worries. It was a time to revel in... a time I wish we still had in this country.
Take time to sit and think about all the lovely memories you have of your childhood. It helps bring your spirits up. It did mine... :)
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