when i was a younger girl i played on the screened in porch of a second story apartment. the porch was my castle and i was the princess of all i surveyed. my little table held concoctions of cereal mixed with peanut butter and my teacups were filled with cherry koolaid 'tea'. oh how i loved rainy days that perpetuated my illustions of my little island kingdom and even my baby bother (yes, that's how i spelled it back then) couldn't worry me. the siamese cats would weave in and out with their weird meows and crooked eyes. if i was very lucky, i could hear my mother cooking and humming along with the radio. as i got older, i outgrew that little paradise - my circle of experience widened and soon best friends (forever!) would be invited over for finger sandwiches. we would do crazy things - like handwrite an entire newspaper or open a barber shop in our backyard (don't worry - mom made sure there were no razors in our razors).
still the circle grew and instead of longing for rainy days in a magical solitary kingdom, i prayed for sunny days of catching fireflies and riding my bicycle all over the world. those days are the essence of summer to me...even now, years (and years) later.
today i watched the rain from my little treehouse room. i listened to the pugs snore as i stitched the second row of my pillow top. and i thought of those flickering images in my memories. then the sun came out and light fell across the leaves of the trees. they appeared golden. and i smiled. thankful for both the rain and the sun. because all of those things make up our lives. both can bring comfort - it's just a matter of perspective.
I stopped on a blog today and saw a big picture of a bowl of cherries and was immediately back in my childhood. My mother was ironing one of my father's shirts. I was sitting on the floor of the living room playing with a doll. And my mother was singing "life is just a bowl of cherries". And all was wonderful.
ReplyDeleteLoved reading your memories and the quietude in the rain and the return of the sun.
isn't that the truth...
ReplyDeleteit's always about the perspective we have towards anything that makes us who we are...
and I would have played well with you as a child as I used to do the same thing...
and almost always, I was the nurse or the teacher :)
What a beautiful post...so elequently written and a reminder to all of us Mums,Aunts,Grandmas to make sure our little futures have a wonderful childhood...we sometimes get SO wrapped up in our own lives that we forget how important the imagination of our little one's minds and the exploration and zest for Life should never be squashed.
ReplyDeleteYour porch sounded like a fun Palace to be in...and if that's the view from your Tree house....can I come for tea?
Char.
Char! That was beautiful - had me reminiscing on some of my fonder childhood memories, I was forever obsessed with creating my own place under sheets draped over chairs, in trees... oh to be a child again!
ReplyDeleteI had a similar sanctuary...our house backed up to a huge public park and then beyond that a golf course so there was no shortage of plants, flowers and little woodland creatures.
ReplyDeleteI adopted a turtle, hunted for fairies (no shit - I was like 6!), and made them food in a bucket with daffodil leaves and water and honeysuckle pods.
How GAY is MY story ;)
What a beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteYou painted the picture so perfectly that I could see myself sitting right there with you.
x
just a matter of perspective. how true.
ReplyDeleteBows and flows of angel hair,
ReplyDeleteAnd ice cream castles in the air...
Lovely post, Char. It took me to some memories of my own childhood.
Beautiful post. I think it
ReplyDeleteis so important for us to
view life in much the same
way we did as kids. Taking
joy out of the simple. Just
as you did here. Beautiful.
It's nice how nature itself ... rain, sunshine ... evokes our long stored feelings of comfort, home. They never really leave us, do they?
ReplyDeleteWritten beautifully and it took me to a screened porch from my childhood with banana popsicles melted in hot tea with my friend Jean Ann and our homemade Raggedy Ann dolls from her Nanny (her grandmother). Thank you. Carla
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, Char! I was an outdoor wild child (with a secret weakness for Barbie's though...shhhh...) and never had a tea party until recently with my 3 yr. old niece! I spent summers running through the woods and creeks and cornfields. I spent a lot of time trying to find natural springs in the woods with my little brother catching tree frogs and searching for coyote dens. Wonderful post that is reminding so many of us about our own childhoods, too, :)
ReplyDeleteyou are a truly gifted writer, my dear. i'd say i wish i could write like you, but i know that would be me wanting to be something i'm not—i'm not a writer. sure, i will try to write the best i can, but i know that is not my strong suit. so i will stick to the things i do best. :)
ReplyDeleteand i will continue to enjoy the gifted writing at the spaces that possess it like yours.
lovely memories here, dear.
"riding yur bike all over the world", can i come :)
ReplyDeleteone of my favourite quotes is "if you have built castles in the air thats where they should be, now put the foundations under them." i cant remember who its by, Thoreau?
sending sunny wishes across the miles!
this is beautiful, I was right there with you, I enjoyed the tea by the way :)
ReplyDeleteI think you just made me homesick a littlebit...
ReplyDeleteas always you have the most beautiful words.
ReplyDeleteit is...it's direct from one of my very favorite Thoreau quotes. He was so wise.
ReplyDeleteI love this post...so many wonderful summer memories..they seem like such happy ones too, Char!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post Char...I giggle when you mention Siamese cats with strange meows and crossed eyes! We had 8 growing up (not all at the same time...lol). I called them flying pin cushions! But they were funny too :)
ReplyDeleteSweet nostalgic memories of childhood.
ReplyDeleteWe used to put plays on at dusk in the neighbor's backyard and invite all the parents.
what a wonderful memory, and so well told. lovely!
ReplyDeleteWe had a great porch for playing on too - with a big spruce tree at one corner to give us some seclusion, and a wide open end for domain surveying. Thanks for a great reminder!
ReplyDeleteYou have a wonderful way with words!! Your blog is so great, because in a way, it's an outlet for all that is in me! One day, when I have some extra time, I want to sit & write all that is in me, as it is in you!
ReplyDeletethat's beautiful and all, but we played doctor it was infinitely more rewarding than barber shop. In fact almost as good as "you show me yours and I'll show you mine" ahhh Upstate New York my childhood was a constant education! :-)
ReplyDeleteI just love moments that can bring you back...
ReplyDeleteblessed with comforting memories and a keen perspective...poetry today~ elk
ReplyDeleteoh, lucky you getting the best of both worlds today. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful pictures you paint with your words! For some reason, chasing fireflies is my best summer memory from childhood... and the sight of fireflies will instantly bring me back to those magical times. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful, nostalgic post! So fun to read about your childhood activities. And I'm glad you had such a wonderful time of reflection. Perspective is a powerful thing.
ReplyDeleteDo you know the song "This is Mine" by Lucy Kaplansky? If you don't here's a link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rhapsody.com/lucy-kaplansky/flesh-and-bone/this-is-mine/lyrics.html