Day 822 memories

 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, this one might prove that to be true. When I see this old black and white of me and my siblings I have to laugh at how long ago it was....at least a million years. Parents didn't take photos often, so not sure why this one warranted the high cost of the film, especially since we weren't wearing our Sunday best. I must have been two or three in the photo, my sister one year older and my brother a year older than her. My brother Chri was so darn cute, but holy cow, his surgical scar from his open heart surgery was prominent then...poor little guy. My sister Jen holding a little kitten, one of our many makes me realize I've never lived in a household without a cat, not sure why anyone would? Cats are the best pets..sorry dog people, but they are. I have no idea why my oldest brother didn't make the photo, who knows, maybe my mom let him take the picture? We grew up out in the woods on Woden's Pond, with the entire world just waiting for us to explore. We spent hours in the deep woods, paving new trails and exploring every inch of the big woods around us, learning what plants were edible and collecting rocks and treasures.  In the winter, we would grab our ice skates and make our way down to the pond for ice skating, somehow always staying out too long and walking home with frozen feet. When it snowed we would grab bread bags from a bin to cover our shoes, the 1960's 70's version of snow boots. Our parents didn't come out to play, check on us or ask what we were up to....but that was also the way in the 60's & 70's. Our backyard was the biggest in our little neighborhood so all the kids would come to our house for games of kick the can then when it was dark, murder. I was one of the youngest kids in the group and scared of the dark so always hid right next to the back door where there was an outside light....of course, I was always found first and murdered quickly. We had a big barn and would climb up into the large barn attic room and set up our clubhouse. With no lights in the attic room and no doubt an abundance of bats, climbing up the ladder and making your way to the only door at the far end of the room was terrifying. Once that door flew open to let the light in, the relief was unlike anything else, as well as the pride of overcoming the fear. In the barn Mr. D, our pony would wait for an apple treat or for one of us to jump on his back for a ride. Charlie, our goat would be eager to come out and play, especially if it meant he could have a car ride! Charlie's favorite thing was taking a drive, so guests needed to close their car doors quickly or he'd jump right in and they'd be forced to take him for a spin around the block or he wouldn't budge. My dad always had a great big garden, his pride and joy and we'd munch on the fruits of his labors throughout our summer days. The old black and white photo is a reminder of how old I am, lucky to have lived such a long and wonderful life... if this is 59 then I can't wait to see what my sixties bring. Who knew that little girl with pigtails would grow up to become a mom, a grammy, have wonderful friends, be happily married and still be eager for adventures? Not sure if that's a thousand words, but that little picture sure brings back memories.