Happy Memories

I visited a farmhouse as a little girl. I had never been up wooden stairs, woke up early in an iron framed bed, nor had I eaten bisquets like Sharon's mother made.

Her daddy showed me how to milk a cow that summer (I wondered how the bug got through her teet not realizing it flew into the bucket). With permission from Sharon's mom, we headed off to the pond. We were so excited as we walked down a narrow white top road, all dressed in our bathing suites swinging towels and giggling. Wild tall grass on the side of the road was garnished with wildflowers. The sun was warm and the sky was blue. The air in Washington State was fresh. Barefooted and carefree we were.

Down a slope off the side of the road we ran through a path to find a circle of large rocks that held a pool of cool water that was fed by a creek that continued to trickle below the pond.

We swam, laughed and splashed! I tried but could not reach the bottom that I could see because the water was so perfectly clear. We were shaded by overhanging trees.

I remember the pride of being a "Brownie" and summer camp songs.

Reading this I realize it was not getting married, traveling or owning a home that gave me happiest times. The happiest times were singing on a bus full of fifth graders, heading to the Alamo in Texas, cross country skiing out into the middle of a frozen lake in Maine with my friends and singing in a high school band.

We made tunnels through the snow and in summer days we played "Kick the Can" and "Red Rover" in the yard.

We played through dirt piles and wooden frames when a new home in the neighborhood was being built.

Halloween was nothing short of a good time.

Slumber parties..

Making amateur movies with my brother, our friends and his 8mm film..

My brother and I would explore rocks and caves with our friends in Rockspings, Wyoming and we watched the tumble weed while we ate the stew we made outside over fire.

Barbara and I would tap dance on a raft in a large swimming hole at the bottom of a hill to the slogan song, "who wears short shorts?"

I remember not being able to control laughter in class, making tents in the yard and pretending to be Coca Cola models holding our glass bottles up with interlocked arms.

I remember making the cheerleading squad and after the game we'd all hang out at a Pizza Hut in Tennessee.

I remember Claudette Cooper in South Carolina. We would take long walks on the beach and playfully throw jelly fish at each other. Then as the sun went down, snuggle under the covers telling stories and talking about boys.

I cannot forget feeling romantic towards my first love as we sang in the church choir.

Those were the best of times. They were worth the saddest 'good-byes' when my parents said, "We will be moving again. It's your daddy's job."

I remember the overwhelming love rush of holding my babies for the first time.

Then it was my job to see that they had happy memories too.