Times have changed so much since I was a kid. We ran wild until it was time for supper without a care in the world. My mother’s only qualification was that when she called me I had better come RIGHT then. She made dinner from scratch every night and I came back tired and happy from playing tetherball, catching bugs, and climbing trees. The world is a different place now: there need to be scheduled “play dates”, there are new strains of awful mosquitos, and sadly kids have to worry about strangers. I have some really nice clients that fly north for the summer to escape the netherworldly humid Texas heat. They have an enormous back yard that is well over an acre and completely enclosed. I told my little one she could just go and play while I worked and she could not believe it. “Just GO?!” she asked in shock and disbelief. “Yep” I said nonchalantly. “But you need to watch me,” she stated with a hint of fear in her voice. “Nope” I replied. “You are completely safe here.” “What about bugs?” she wanted to know. I whipped out the repellent, covering her from head to toe and told her she was good to go. Hesitantly at first, she went outside but lingered close while I went about my job checking on the house. She discovered a putting green where she turned the dignified game of golf into a hybrid of cricket and some sort of carnival game at the fair. Next she found the swing and a little while later she was running around the giant azalea bushes in circles shrieking with abandon. She ventured out even more and crossed over their bridge that leads to a gazebo in the very back. After I’d finished my rounds I came out to play with her. We raced and laughed and tried to scare each other. The comforting sounds and smells of late summer brought me back to when I was little and being outside with total abandon. One of my favorite quotes is from the Lebanese born poet Kahlil Gibran:
“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.”
And that is exactly what my little one and I did … out in the great outdoors.
Delightful! Memories forever.
Cynthia thank you for reading and responding. Our memories are the most cherished things we have to take out and savor whenever we wish. I appreciate you taking the time to read some of mine. 🙂
I remember playing like that at my parents’ old house in Forest Hills. The garden was full of blackberries, pecans, fireflies….we had a lot of cats, some ducks, and even a pony who stayed in the old barn for a couple of years. I went back to the neighborhood when we were house hunting, before we had children. The yards are more manicured now. House Prices were (and are now) completely out of reach. But the memories will always be there!
Elizabeth I know there is still a barn by the Boy Scouts but had no idea there was ever one in Forest Hills! I think it has always been beautiful but prices everywhere have definitely sky rocketed. And I love collecting pecans! Thanks for reading and responding. 🙂