A few days ago I took some students outside to write. It was a picture-perfect spring day; blue skies and sunshine. Very conducive for writing. To encourage self-expression and so I don't 'hover', I write along with them. On this particular day we sat at different places on the playground, and my thoughts led me here...
For some reason this weather makes me miss Salina and my mind returns there.
I miss my old back yard, the glider on the deck, the flowers I planted: larkspur, lantana, iris, lobelia, daisies and marigolds, yarrow, dianthus and my butterfly bush. I miss my little corner - the creeping phlox and low-growing evergreens in the front yard...the porch swing where I sat and read and watched the rain fall. I miss seeing neighbors working in their yards, calling across the fence and sharing tips about flowers...advice about life. I miss riding my bicycle down the path by the airport and the pizza plant where the smell of dough and spices permeated the air. I miss the neighborhood children I've known since they were little; their laughter ringing from the backyard, the sound of screen doors as they ran in and out. I miss the old grade school and familiar faces in familiar hallways. I miss my job at the university with close connections and diverse people. I miss the lack of gossip and the positive feeling of support - of help from friends, but also space to reside in one's own place without interference or judgement.
But of course I know, if I went back now it would all have changed. A new family lives in what once was home. The trees have grown, the flowers are gone and what once was familiar no longer remains. Front porch melodies are silent where the swing once hung. Neighbors have moved, some passing to another life. Children have grown and left for college, and the lovely little school has grown into a building with new walls, rules, and faces. Co-workers from my days have moved on to new locations and vocations. Time stands still for no man....and I am hardly an exception.But for today, I'm dreaming of the past. My heart is a hundred miles away, in another place and time, when the spokes of my life's wheel were in perfect alignment and turned my world with exactly what I needed.
4 comments:
The thing about memories is, the pace almost always seemed perfect in days before now...A perfect place moving at perfect pace. That's what makes a memory a nice thing to keep.
Another wonderful thing about memory and I truly believe it is a God given trait... in most cases our memories are primarily of the good times and the great feelings we had. Now we all know that there has never been a time in our lives when disappointments and other trying things have been completely absent... yet, we tend not to remember those as the days become more remote. Perhaps, since God requires we forgive as He forgave us... this makes it easier for us to do so. Just a thought.
We finished up our year of BSF and the life of Moses... Of all the things I learned, the one that touched me the most was the last verses of Deuteronomy. God went with Moses to the mountain to show him Canaan. Then He was there when Moses died and God, Himself buried Moses and no man knew where his body was buried. That really touched my heart. Oh to be that close to Him.
Memories are wonderful to have and bring out to the front of our minds when we need them the most!
You described your memories so well that I could almost smell the dough and oregano at the pizza plant.
Ahh........memories! What would we ever do without them? Thanks for the memories you triggered in my brain!
Hugs
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