Childhood Memories

I was able to go visit my grandparents this week with my mom and brothers.  It was the first time in lots of years (since we all have been at school, getting married, and moving in our own separate directions) that all four siblings have been there at the same time.  

The passing of time is such a strange thing.  Being with my brothers and remembering back to all the years we lived under the same roof, sharing in all the daily rituals of life, made me realize how brief and impermanent the season of parenting is.  And I'm thankful again for my father for capturing the moments of our childhood in pictures and for taking the time to preserve them for us digitally.  I can take a walk down memory lane any time.

I'm really glad we got to visit my Papa.  I have so many memories of the times we spent by the wood stove, of swinging underneath the tree in the backyard, while singing, "Zacheus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.  He climbed up in the sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see."  We loved it when it was our turn to sit in his lap on the riding lawnmower while he cut the grass in that hot summer sun.

I remember how he would take us to Show Biz--and then Chuck E Cheese when the name changed--every time we came to visit.  We loved jumping in the ball pit, earning tickets and picking out our prizes.  

I remember breakfasting at McDonald's on the mornings before we'd leave to go home.  I can see the little container of pancakes and sausage so vividly in my mind, of peeling back the foil on the little cup of orange juice.  It's so funny the things that stay with you.  It makes me thankful that he always took the time to do those things with us.

Most importantly, he always gave us a dollar bill each time we left his house, so we could stop for ice cream on the way home.  There are other memories made when I was older, of course.  I got to spend my college years in the same city with my grandparents, and that was such a blessing.  But you always have a special place in your heart for the memories made in childhood.