Childhood Memories

Have you ever reminisced about your childhood?

There’s nothing like looking through old photo albums.  All those memories come flooding back, don’t they?

A walk down memory lane, so to speak.  It seems that with every turn of a page, memories come racing back of days gone by.

I found one of my baby pictures the other day.  No, I don’t remember that day at all.  I looked as if I was one or so.  I sat and wondered about times then.

Prices were lower, yes wages were lower too, but times were simpler, and in our neck of the country you were taught your manners, raised in Church and had plenty of morals, unlike today.

It would have been the spring or summer of 1967.   I was outside at my Grandma’s house walking in the yard.

I grew up in a little part of the country in the state of Tennessee, USA.   Times were simpler, neighbors knew one another, visited each other, helped one another and family was really important back then and close-knit.

My Dad worked driving a truck and Mom was a full-time wife and Mom.   There ain’t much of that anymore is there?   Truthfully, I think that is sad.

I wish we didn’t live in such a time now, that we feel we have to acquire every gadget and gizmo, and women could be home with their children full time in the early years.

But anyway, back to the topic at hand.    I remember quite a bit about my childhood.

All the times I spent at Grandma’s house.   Goodness I had fun there.   When I was really young my Uncle was still in High School and living at home with Grandpa and Grandma.   To this day, I can still see and hear him sitting outside in the yard, with his guitar.   Playing and singing, I can’t remember the song but I remember those first few words.   ” I can hear the train a coming, it’s coming round the bend. I ain’t seen the sunshine since I don’t know when.”   I think it was a Johnny Cash song, everybody loved country music then.   Most in our neck of the woods still do.

 Isn’t it funny the things you can suddenly remember at times?   I remember playing paper dolls with Mom, planting tulip bulbs together in the yard, laundry time, different kittens and dogs through the years; scraped knees, stumped toes, and fingers I seemed to constantly get smashed in the car door.   It’s amazing that pinky finger is still there when we would get ready to leave Grandmas I would be leaning up to talk and tell her bye, and before you know it, Mom was closing the door, and this crazy little girl was still leaning up talking.  OUCH, over and over again.

I remember my brother being born, I was barely three.  Well, actually I remember staying with my Aunt, Uncle, and Granny, while Mom was at the hospital and Daddy coming to pick me up with this beautiful little doll, that I still cherish today.   She was my baby, while Mom was taking care of my new baby brother. 

I remember trips to Cherokee NC to see the Indians and the mountains.  My brother was terrified of them, bless his heart!   But to me, being the big sister, I thought it was funny that he was so scared of them.  Typical sister, ain’t it? 

Times changed a bit when I was in first grade, my Daddy was a truck driver and in a wreck, broke his back; that was so scary of a time.  Mom left us with our Grandma and Grandpa, and off she went with family to Daddy.   I remember how afraid I was that Daddy was hurt and so far away.   Eventually, Daddy and Mom got to come back home and Daddy slowly started healing, but Mom was having to work then.   It was different having Daddy home with us, and Mom working, very different.   But time has a way of healing things and life changed back to normal, eventually. 

Dad and Mom decided to build us a new house, that was so exciting watching it being built, all the changes each day.  We all were so excited.  I remember I had a big bedroom with red carpet and a beautiful canopy bedroom suite.  And to this day I remember the beautiful pink bedspread with all the ruffles my Aunt bought me.  I thought it was the most beautiful bedroom ever, for an eight-year-old little girl I felt like a princess in my room. 

There was only one thing I didn’t like about our new home, the wooden bridge across the creek in the driveway.  I hated that bridge, I was scared to walk across it forever.  Then I remember after I finally got used to it, Dad and Mom helped me to learn how to ride my bicycle across that same stinking bridge.  Oh, I was terrified all over again, but hey, I finally got it.  At last, my fears were gone, but thank goodness they eventually paved it.

My brother and I had a blast together as young kids, there were only three years between us, so we enjoyed our childhood together.  Then when I was nine, my baby brother was born.  I’ll never forget that day.  We were in school, and my Uncle and Aunt came to pick up me, my brother and my cousin and told us he was born and all was well. 

We had moved into the new house Mom and Dad had built the year before and we had a ball playing outside while Mom took care of our new baby brother. 

Our baby brother required a lot of care and endured surgeries, which I remember made us all sad.  Our baby brother with foot surgery, pain and a cast.  I remember always feeling like I wanted to treat him extra special because of what he went through.

And to this day, I still do.   I love both my brothers dearly, but my baby brother and I seem to have a special bond, always have, always will.

We had a big yard, a creek, a hill, and a big field.  We would get out and play with the tonka trucks building roads and having a blast, or baseball in the front yard, we made us a playhouse around the pine trees, and for that field…. well Daddy bought us a motorcycle. Yes, it was small a something or other 60. I remember it being orange and my brother and I rode the daylights out of that thing. We had a very well worn path in that field.

Time passed and Dad started a trucking company instead of driving anymore.  To this day it’s still very successful thanks to all the hard work and sacrifices Dad and Mom made in the beginning, and Gods blessings!  And believe it or not, we all work together in the family business.   Which is really great most of the time, but, well, we are still siblings.   Need I say more?

Looking back our parents gave us a good childhood, we had trips to Florida often, that seemed like a trip we made at least once a year, and always had fun. 

We went camping a bunch at the old Circle J Campground in North Carolina.  Now those were some really fun times.  We had our bicycles with us, cookouts, hiking, tennis, ping pong, fishing, playing in the creek, puzzles, lots of other camping folks around, and an old general store, and the owner making french toast every Saturday morning.   I really cherished those summers.

I’m thankful I can remember parts of my childhood, times with family, all us cousins spending time together, family get-togethers, cookouts, swimming and on and on.

Thanks, Dad and Mom for giving us three kids lots of great memories and experiences and for loving us so.