I was helping out some elderly former neighbors with their yard which, due to health issues, has now become overwhelming to them. I was glad to do it; I had spent plenty of time in that yard over several years as a kid, and figured it was the least I could do for them...and the yard.
The first thing I noticed was that everything seemed smaller than I remembered. Wonder why that is? I've heard lots of people make that comment upon returning to a childhood haunt. What is it about adulthood that shrinks our reality? Or rather what is it about our childhood that enlarges our memories? As I stood on the porch for a bit trimming a bush, I remembered how several of us managed to squeeze ourselves into the porch swing hanging there. Now, looking at it, my first thought was how small the chain looked...guess that's a built-in preventive measure to keep our bones in tact as we age.
Reality can be a bit of a kill-joy.
Later, as I was hauling some trimmings down to the bottom of the yard to put in the brush pile, I looked over at a side of the yard and immediately recalled one afternoon, many years ago, when we had a sled-perfect big snow. That little, narrow patch of hill kept the neighborhood and my brothers, returning home for the fun, happy for hours. We used sleds, an old car hood, water skis with the lower fins removed, metal disks...if it would slide that day, we tried it. That hill looks as though it could never have held that much fun--but it did.
I was given a gift today--a trip back into the time of being a kid with not a care in the world. Later, driving back home, I decided for sure that good things do come a small packages.
Have a fine day.
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