Long, long ago, in the carefree lands of childhood, there lived a little girl. She didn't know what conservative was, but she understood patriotism; she hadn't heard of the virtue of modesty, but she knew she should be comfortable in her own skin. Her dreams of what she would be when she grew up consisted of all manner of fascinating careers to be seen on evening variety shows - ventriloquists, trapeze artists, magicians, and go-go dancers. She also dreamt of being the Mom of five, and through her own experience of Calvert fourth grade thought homeschooling was cool, but knights on horses and traveling through time were still just as plausible possibilities. The secret of flying was just out of reach, but it might still be there when she woke up one of those times.....
Of course, I was that little girl. My favorite color was psychadelic, I loved mastering tongue twisters, and I was positive I could see my future - I would look just like the model in the J.C. Penny catalogue. Some things we envision as children never come to pass and we must reconcile ourselves to the facts and be content - I never grew tall and leggy like the Penny's model, but I did get a big, toothy smile. Some things are even better than we'd imagined - my husband and children and our life of learning carries echoes of my own childhood as well as greater richness with each year's experiences. And some remain dreams, sweet and distant reminders of all that we thought could be, and hope for a promise of overflowing fulfillment. I've got a Volkswagon van on my list of heavenly joys to be relished in when I get to glory.
Make mine psychedelic....
Oh my, loved those days. God gives us the gift of remembering the good things. You have to have a tent too. I thought it was great to climb in the back with you kids and make sandwiches as we drove along. Dad would smack the side of the van as we drove along, urging it up a steep incline, loaded with all eight of us. Happy days, very hectic also.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the new look, Shy! And I think you and Michael should invest in one of those VW's and come visit us! I can just picture you all driving up in it right now! Love your posts!
ReplyDeleteMost of my memories involve dancing in the living room like loonies to loud music, usually Simon & Garfunkle & Abba with mom, working (really just drawing and trying to do what dad did) in my dad's studio, learning to cartoon, make model houses, draw, color...my parents were feverish workers. At anything, mostly, tho, creating. They toiled at their business, home, wasn't much care in the world for me, I had no idea what they were trying to build. I just knew that a good life involved a lot of work, and a lot of satisfaction in producing something. Faith & church were always part of our lives, we were very involved in our parish. But the deeper meaning of faith came much later, tho I am grateful for the strong faith/family foundation they laid...
ReplyDeleteA VW van has always been my "guilty pleasure". Just love them. When I was young I dreamed of touring the country in one, when I thought hippies were positively the coolest people.
ReplyDeleteI'll be tall and leggy so you can live vicariously through me.
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