I couldn't think of one single thing to blog today until I read Melissa's blog.
She had listed 5 childhood memories and it got me to thinking about some of my childhood memories. There are so many so I am going to go with whatever pops up first.....
1. I remember playing softball with all of the neighborhood kids in the empty lot across from our house. There would be at least 12 of us and we would split up into teams on those warm, humid Missouri nights and the competition would begin. I was a small girl but never one not to step up to the challenge of showing up the boys. I can still hear the crack of the aluminum bat hitting the soft ball, watching it soar over head and the gasps of the boys as I rounded the bases headed for home. Sweat, adrenaline and lightening bugs....I miss summer nights as a kid!
2. In the winter the park down the road from our house would freeze over as a solid sheet of ice. I lived for the days that this would happen. I would bundle up tightly and lace on my ice skates. Keep in mind that I never had a single ice skating lesson but I knew that I was the next Dorothy Hamil. I would glide and spin, making endless trips around the park.... dreaming of the applause from the crowds until it was too dark to see and I could no longer feel my toes.
3. Christmas Eve was always a time of real excitement and anticipation in our house. My sister and I would wait until everyone went to sleep and then sneak into the living room, either at our house or my Grandma's to see what Santa had left for us. One year my cousin Darrell and my Aunt Carolyn were staying with us at Christmas. My sister fell asleep before we could inspect the bounty but Darrell and I couldn't resist. We started the army crawl down the long hall way leading towards the living room, when Carolyn's little yippy dog (I can't remember it's name) sensed someone outside of the bedroom door. It began to cry and yip so we dove back into our beds, waiting for the all clear. When we finally made it to the loot I discovered that I had gotten the art set I had been wishing for and Darrell had gotten the Atari he had been dreaming about.
4. One of my most precious memories is that of my Grandpa. He always worked up at his businesses until almost 10 pm every night. He would come in before the news was on, carrying his metal file box and then take off his shoes. He would sit down in his recliner and I would crawl up on his lap for some hugs. It's funny how after all of these years I can still feel the cool smoothness of the fabric and smell the lingering scent of Granpa's aftershave. I would head for the bathroom to get a brush and comb for his hair, he would let me comb his hair and we would talk about our day while I added "moon drops" from my pretend bottle, to his hair.
5. I remember the only "argument" that I had with my Grandpa. When I was in Jr. High it was necessary to have designer jeans. Calvin Klein, Jordache and Guess.....for us, nothing else was cool. Mom and I were going shopping and Grandpa heard we were in the market for some new jeans. Grandpa had a department store in a small town, they carried a lot but not designer clothing. He could go on buying trips and one day he came home with these "jeans". He was so proud to show them to me, thinking he had gotten me the jeans of my dreams. Oh, they so were not Calvins......they were some off brand, very dark blue and literally were so stiff they could stand up on their own. I said thank you but these aren't what I wanted. (I was 12!!!) Grandpa couldn't believe it and I explained about the labels and the name brands, he said he could get out his marker and write my name on the label and then I would have my own designer jeans. Big eyerolls and big tears from me, why couldn't he just get it!!!
Grandpa was always a dress pant kinda guy until he sort of retired, he then started wearing jeans often, no they weren't designer but it was strange at first to see him in jeans. When they buried him, they didn't put him in one of his dressy suits, they put him in his jeans. They were designer....not Calvins, Jordache or Guess.....they were Bill Morgan specials. God how I love you Grandpa.....I miss you so much!!!
She had listed 5 childhood memories and it got me to thinking about some of my childhood memories. There are so many so I am going to go with whatever pops up first.....
1. I remember playing softball with all of the neighborhood kids in the empty lot across from our house. There would be at least 12 of us and we would split up into teams on those warm, humid Missouri nights and the competition would begin. I was a small girl but never one not to step up to the challenge of showing up the boys. I can still hear the crack of the aluminum bat hitting the soft ball, watching it soar over head and the gasps of the boys as I rounded the bases headed for home. Sweat, adrenaline and lightening bugs....I miss summer nights as a kid!
2. In the winter the park down the road from our house would freeze over as a solid sheet of ice. I lived for the days that this would happen. I would bundle up tightly and lace on my ice skates. Keep in mind that I never had a single ice skating lesson but I knew that I was the next Dorothy Hamil. I would glide and spin, making endless trips around the park.... dreaming of the applause from the crowds until it was too dark to see and I could no longer feel my toes.
3. Christmas Eve was always a time of real excitement and anticipation in our house. My sister and I would wait until everyone went to sleep and then sneak into the living room, either at our house or my Grandma's to see what Santa had left for us. One year my cousin Darrell and my Aunt Carolyn were staying with us at Christmas. My sister fell asleep before we could inspect the bounty but Darrell and I couldn't resist. We started the army crawl down the long hall way leading towards the living room, when Carolyn's little yippy dog (I can't remember it's name) sensed someone outside of the bedroom door. It began to cry and yip so we dove back into our beds, waiting for the all clear. When we finally made it to the loot I discovered that I had gotten the art set I had been wishing for and Darrell had gotten the Atari he had been dreaming about.
4. One of my most precious memories is that of my Grandpa. He always worked up at his businesses until almost 10 pm every night. He would come in before the news was on, carrying his metal file box and then take off his shoes. He would sit down in his recliner and I would crawl up on his lap for some hugs. It's funny how after all of these years I can still feel the cool smoothness of the fabric and smell the lingering scent of Granpa's aftershave. I would head for the bathroom to get a brush and comb for his hair, he would let me comb his hair and we would talk about our day while I added "moon drops" from my pretend bottle, to his hair.
5. I remember the only "argument" that I had with my Grandpa. When I was in Jr. High it was necessary to have designer jeans. Calvin Klein, Jordache and Guess.....for us, nothing else was cool. Mom and I were going shopping and Grandpa heard we were in the market for some new jeans. Grandpa had a department store in a small town, they carried a lot but not designer clothing. He could go on buying trips and one day he came home with these "jeans". He was so proud to show them to me, thinking he had gotten me the jeans of my dreams. Oh, they so were not Calvins......they were some off brand, very dark blue and literally were so stiff they could stand up on their own. I said thank you but these aren't what I wanted. (I was 12!!!) Grandpa couldn't believe it and I explained about the labels and the name brands, he said he could get out his marker and write my name on the label and then I would have my own designer jeans. Big eyerolls and big tears from me, why couldn't he just get it!!!
Grandpa was always a dress pant kinda guy until he sort of retired, he then started wearing jeans often, no they weren't designer but it was strange at first to see him in jeans. When they buried him, they didn't put him in one of his dressy suits, they put him in his jeans. They were designer....not Calvins, Jordache or Guess.....they were Bill Morgan specials. God how I love you Grandpa.....I miss you so much!!!
1 Comments:
You made my cry. Your grandpa sounds special
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