Five Fond Memories

I've been "tagged" to write about five things I miss from childhood. I found this to be a difficult assignment. At first, I could think of nothing. Then, memories came back one by one; then each memory led to another and another and three more.... Some of the memories were good and some not-so-good. Many of my memories made me sad, not because they were bad memories, but because of the feelings of longing they evoked. I had trouble narrowing this list down to only five things.

1. Each summer, my sister JoAnne and I would spend two weeks with grandparents - the first week with one set of grandparents, and the second week with the other set. I have so many memories from these vacations, I can't possible count them all. I remember Grandpop (my dad's father), and how JoAnne and I would "steal his spot" by sitting in his favorite chair. We would laugh gleefully as he dragged us off and tickled us mercilessly. It took him a long time to get his spot back, because as soon as he dragged one of us off, the other sat down, and we would take turns like that. Every evening after dinner, we would sit there and taunt him: "Grandpop, we're sitting in your spo-ot!"
   
   My grandmom (my dad's mom) would cook these enormous dinners. She taught us to say "when" when she had put enough food on our plate. But we would say "when," and then she would put one or two or three more spoonfulls on the plate of whatever it was she was serving. If we complained, she would explain that she didn't want any leftovers in the fridge. I don't know why it didn't occur to her to cook less food than she did. It was no use to say "when" right away; she always just put these huge mounds on the plate. Then she tried to make us feel guilty if we didn't eat everything. I hated wasting the food - it was usually delicious - but I just couldn't eat it all! I was a small kid.
   
   My Grandma (mom's mom) didn't try to force us to eat big meals; we always had healthy snacks around, and we could help ourselves whenever we wanted. There was always this HUGE yellow jar full of thick, hard, salty pretzels; and the most delicious fresh fruit, like white grapes, and peaches so ripe the juice would run down our chins. And we had a little bowl of ice cream or sherbet every night before bedtime.
   
   My Granddad (mom's dad) took us on long walks around town. We became very familiar with that neighborhood over the years; but our favorite walk was across the bridge. We would stare down at the water rushing far below, and when it was clear we could see the fish. Also, Granddad was one of the first drivers for Meals on Wheels - a program by which invalids and shut-ins had hot meals delivered to their homes - and my sister and I would go with him to see the "old people."
   
   Those summers were wonderful. We saw a lot of other relatives too - aunts, uncles, cousins. I could write for days. I think I've already fulfilled the requirements of this writing exercise, and then some; so I'll keep the rest short.


2. I miss the pets I had growing up: Max, our dog; and Shadow, Stripes, and Dancer, all cats.


3. Old friends. Holly, my very first friend and neighbor - the last time I saw her, I was four years old. I remember at that young age comprehending that I was never going to see her again. I tried to explain to her that my family was moving away, and she didn't understand. I don't know where any of my childhood friends are today. I know how to get in touch with only one of my high school classmates.


4. Gummy bears. Chewy, soft, flavorful. My sister and I would walk to our local drugstore and buy them by the half-pound. Then we would come home and "pig out." I liked to bite the head off of one, then bite the body off of another, and then stick the mis-matched bear parts together to make a kind of Frankenstein gummy bear. They were the original gummy candy. Today they're just not the same.


5. I miss the sidewalk in front of the house I lived in as a child in New Jersey. I knew every crevice, crack, and stone in that length of sidewalk. I learned to rollerskate, ride a bike, and wield the biggest magnifying glass to be found in the neighborhood, on that length of concrete. I knew every bit of ground for a mile around that house, and more, but I knew the sidewalk best. I was a lot closer to the ground then.

Here are the rules. PARTICIPATION IS VOLUNTARY. Remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place; add your blog's name in the #5 spot; link to each of the other blogs for the desired cross-pollination effect.

1. Baby Lauren
2. Babbling Bente
3. Sharkey Malarkey
4. It's Not all Mary Poppins
5. snaars

I nominate the following people to participate (there's no obligation and I won't be offended if you choose not to do so):

Arglor

and

Arglor

and

Arglor.

(I would have nominated Mayfly, but I know she's been super-busy with serious writing lately. I would have nominated Q, but he's already been nominated by Mary P. I would have nominated Ron, but I know he has no time to write. I would have nominated Patrick, but I know his blog is pretty much a photo blog. Tag, Arglor - you're it.)

I am still accepting submissions for the Name My Blog competition - go ahead and add any more titles in the comments on the previous post.