As I sit here at my desk this morning, looking at my checkbook and a stack of bills, it occurs to me that I just don't want to adult today. I would much rather go back to when I was about 8 years old.
If it were summertime, the 8 year old me would be playing a game of Jacks with my best friend. Or maybe Hopscotch on the sidewalk. Or I might be found hiding among the branches of the crab apple tree reading a Nancy Drew Mystery or a Bobsey Twins book, with the added pleasure of having some of the best tasting crab apples on the planet within easy reach.
Or I might be found knee deep in the creek, sailing pieces of wood and pretending they were boats sailing off to distant exotic lands. Or maybe at the lake practicing my swimming strokes.
If it were wintertime, there were snowmen to be built, complete with coal for eyes and a carrot nose. Or the building snow forts where epic snowball battles raged.
If I were at my Grandma's house, there would be sledding with my cousins down the hill in the cow pasture, made all the more exciting by having to dodge the large rocks and tree stumps.
But the best part of winter was ice skating. There was the outdoor ice rink down by the elementary school where an 8 year old girl could practice to be an Olympic champion. Those hopes were dashed with the realization that I probably would never skate backwards without falling down.
Then there was the small ice covered lake near Grandma's house where Dad had skated as a young boy. He told me of skating on a very windy day. He opened the front of his coat and held the fronts out like airplane wings. The wind caught his 'wings' and propelled him across the lake. Having tried that myself, I learned he was right when he said the ride across was fun, but skating back against the wind was a bugger.
So here I am. Bills and checkbook in front of me. I am not 8 years old any more. If I want a roof over my head I suppose I had better write that rent check and if I want my life to continue without bill collectors bothering me, I expect I had better be the adult and take care of business.
But oh, the memories. They are sweet.
Opus 2024-401: Know You’re Informants
13 hours ago
What great memories. Growing up on the west coast meant that I didn't learn to ice skate until college. In a beach town in southern California of all places - funny place for an ice rink.
ReplyDeleteMy best memories are from 10yo when my best friend and I were just old enough to explore on our bikes. Every Saturday it would seem would find us gone from just after breakfast until dinner time. Or after chores were done on Saturday, depending on the weekend and Mom's to-do list. And hanging out at the elementary school playing kick the can or roller skating down the very smooth sidewalks at the school.
Cheers, SJ in Vancouver BC
SJ...Good memories. Good times. Life was so much more free and easy then. I remember being out all day with neighborhood kids, exploring all over town. I wonder if kids will ever have that kind of freedom again.
DeleteAdulting is hard, and ain't for sissies. On the other hand, those are GREAT memories!
ReplyDeleteRev. Paul...I think we all need a day once in a while where we don't have to adult. My 'memory lane' days fil the bill for me.
DeleteI did the same thing with the coat on skates. We used old umbrellas as well. And hockey... there was always hockey! Why did the damned puck always end up on the thin ice at that pond?!
ReplyDeleteWe had a sledding hill with a frozen pond at the bottom; a wide spot in a creek, actually. It never froze quite enough to support a half-frozen human being on a Flexible Flyer though, so avoiding it resulted in quite a few roll-overs, flips, and aerial acrobatics!
I grew up on the south shore of Long Island, so fishing and swimming were summertime staples. My butt would go numb sitting on the pier rail fishing for snappers. To give the cheeks a break, I'd walk the bulkhead looking for blueclaw crabs. When the heat and slow fishing got to me, I'd somehow always "fall in."
Fall; pick-up football games; the more rain and mud, the better! No helmets, no pads, and surprisingly few injuries! The groundskeepers at the local schoolyard HATED us!
Yeah, those were good days. I have one son who embraced the outdoor life and had a childhood much like mine. The other two? Their best memories of childhood will most likely be ...video games... ...So sad...
Pete...One of the sledding hills when I was a little older had train tracks at the bottom. The trick was to go careening off sideways into the weeds before hitting the rails. Sometimes we made it - sometimes not. :)
DeleteWe didn't have the shore like your Long Island, but we had lakes. A friend with a raft was worth his weight in gold. Fish a while - swim a while.
I am blessed to have grands who played baseball in the summer. Hockey was the winter sport of choice. To this day, if you gave my youngest grand, age 12, a choice between video games and hockey, he would be out the door and on his way to the rink in a heart beat! His teenage sisters, however, would be lost without their phones. Sigh.
My youngest daughters favorite saying. I too had many memories of winter fun. Never did get skating down. At age 11 we moved to sunny Ca. I did learn to roller stake still had great fun, that is until that damn little pebble cause my feet to stop, but body continues it forward motion until the sudden stop on the sidewalk, and cut knees. Thanks so very much for the trip.
ReplyDeleteWe all could use a little trip down memory lane once in a while. I remember roller skating on the sidewalks, too. I think my knees had scabs on them every summer until I was about 13. But it still was fun.
DeleteEight was a good year. But nine and ten were better because I was considered old enough to go trick-or-treating with my friends, and without parents. It was the year to graduate to pillowcases for our candy and run between houses in our massive subdivision. I think my candy lasted until January.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, Jennifer...Trick or treating was much more fun with friends and no parents! I doubt my candy lasted as long as yours did. I have an awful sweet tooth. :)
DeleteVicki, you and I would have been very good friends had we had the opportunity to know one another at the age of 8. I got my first ice skates at the age of 4 and have such great memories of skating with my dad and later with my friends. Sure wouldn't want to try it now tho. I still love to read and munch on an apple! Thank you for bringing the memories back. Being an adult isn't so bad if you make good choices. You take good care, CW
ReplyDeleteCW...I think ice skating was my favorite thing to do with reading a close second. My Dad taught me to skate, too and then it was just a short walk with friends to the outdoor ice rink. There was a small 'warming house' shack with a potbelly stove inside where we could go when our noses and toes became numb with the cold. I sure wouldn't want to try skating these days. It is pretty much a given I would fall and break all sorts of important stuff! But it sure was fun back then. :)
DeleteI agree that being an adult isn't so bad. But just once in a while it is nice to leave the cares of the world behind for a day.
Cue Bob Hope's theme song. ;-)
ReplyDelete"Thanks For the Memories." You new I was old enough to remember, didn't you. :)
DeleteSince I grew up in Memphis, Tn and Jackson, MS your stories mean nothing to me--no ice, no snow, no friends close by. We kids played with each other. At school we played Hop Scotch and Red Rover. At home we had 10 acres to roam and try not to get bit by snakes. We put on plays, rode out bikes, roller skated when we finally had a sidewalk or went to a rink. In Jackson there was no snow and little more in Memphis. I was 21 before I went down a hill on a sled, and then it was lying on my bil.
ReplyDeleteI did not mean to post. I was so afraid on the sled that i would not go down the hill again. There is a reason i live in the South. I do not want snow. I like to look at it, but want it to go away the next day.
DeleteLinda...I suppose some of the things we did in the summer might be similar to the things you did, except for the snakes. Minnesota has very few snakes. I lived in the country for a few years, so I had room to roam as well.
DeleteI am not fond of snow either. At least I'm not now that I am old. But here is where my kids and grands are, so here is where I stay. I just try to stay out of the snow. :)