E. Boyer
I had a charmed youth. Parental supervision was a very different thing back then. In fact, in my case, it was practically non-existent! I often wonder how we survived it. Still, my memories of nearly complete freedom are permanent. I always considered my parent's ineptitude a gift. After all, it's what allowed me to eat pixie-stix for dinner and swim with friends in the pond down the road until all hours of the night in summer, skipping home beneath a warm starlit sky in little more than our underwear. Imagine, allowing your 8 year old to swim, unsupervised in a pond, in the woods, in the dark with a pack of other wild-spirited children..Good Lord...It just wouldn't happen today.
My morning routine as a child would, today, be just as unlikely. Cheerios were the newest convenience and all the rage. If anything was predictable in my childhood, it was my father, before sun-up, at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in one hand, a cigarette in the other, his ear leaning toward a little transistor radio and a box of Cheerios at the ready. Of course, no bowl of Cheerios was complete without at least 4 tablespoons of sugar. Good 'ole C&H. Another permanent memory is that of the syrupy sludge that resided at the bottom of my bowl. It was the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Research has since taught us that all that sugar isn't good, but for me as a child, I believe that sugary heaven at the bottom of my bowl, courtesy of my father, was directly related to every one of my happy mornings. I recognize that parents, today, wouldn't consider such a thing and with good reason. It's just too much darned sugar. But, I stand firm, even now, that one of life's finest pleasures is a chocolate old-fashioned from Colonial Doughnuts and a cup of strong coffee before sun-up. It's one of the few things guaranteed to render 100% satisfaction!
Thomas Jefferson wrote of a time "...when youth and health made happiness out of every thing." I'm reminded of this almost daily. From my upstairs window and over the past many years, I've had the privilege of watching the neighborhood kids walk past on their way to school. A living timeline right below my window. I've literally seen them go from Kindergarten to now having children of their own. Growing up on the sidewalk beneath my window. They trudged off to Kindergarten and then, as if by magic, on the return trip they're tall, lanky Seniors. All, right before my eyes on the sidewalk below my window. I don't know how I'd market this feature if I ever decided to sell my home. I suppose I could say "Just watch from this window, a few minutes every day for the next few decades and I guarantee you'll be amazed." A fine feature, I think.
In the mornings, their outbound trips are characterized by the typical disheveled rush to get to school on time. But, the afternoons are different. With a lazy, care-free gait, they drape themselves over one another, hold hands, talk to themselves, sing, drag sticks, chat in small groups at the stop sign across the street. Basking in the freedom of no adult supervision whatsoever if only for a moment. A treasure to behold. There's one group that consists of three boys and a girl. I often wonder when she...and they will become aware of her beauty. Will it suddenly be awkward or will they remain fast friends? I hope the latter is true.
It's their return trip that reminds me of my own childhood. It's that bit of time before the weight of homework and expectations hover down around them. Before they're required to use "inside" voices and stay within the lines. Before criticism and negativity and the burden of hectic schedules mar their glorious, youthful spirit. It's that snippet of time when they devour the joy of being young and free....when youth and health make happiness out of everything.
I could be wrong but, I bet they'd love to have pixie-stix for dinner...
My morning routine as a child would, today, be just as unlikely. Cheerios were the newest convenience and all the rage. If anything was predictable in my childhood, it was my father, before sun-up, at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in one hand, a cigarette in the other, his ear leaning toward a little transistor radio and a box of Cheerios at the ready. Of course, no bowl of Cheerios was complete without at least 4 tablespoons of sugar. Good 'ole C&H. Another permanent memory is that of the syrupy sludge that resided at the bottom of my bowl. It was the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Research has since taught us that all that sugar isn't good, but for me as a child, I believe that sugary heaven at the bottom of my bowl, courtesy of my father, was directly related to every one of my happy mornings. I recognize that parents, today, wouldn't consider such a thing and with good reason. It's just too much darned sugar. But, I stand firm, even now, that one of life's finest pleasures is a chocolate old-fashioned from Colonial Doughnuts and a cup of strong coffee before sun-up. It's one of the few things guaranteed to render 100% satisfaction!
Thomas Jefferson wrote of a time "...when youth and health made happiness out of every thing." I'm reminded of this almost daily. From my upstairs window and over the past many years, I've had the privilege of watching the neighborhood kids walk past on their way to school. A living timeline right below my window. I've literally seen them go from Kindergarten to now having children of their own. Growing up on the sidewalk beneath my window. They trudged off to Kindergarten and then, as if by magic, on the return trip they're tall, lanky Seniors. All, right before my eyes on the sidewalk below my window. I don't know how I'd market this feature if I ever decided to sell my home. I suppose I could say "Just watch from this window, a few minutes every day for the next few decades and I guarantee you'll be amazed." A fine feature, I think.
In the mornings, their outbound trips are characterized by the typical disheveled rush to get to school on time. But, the afternoons are different. With a lazy, care-free gait, they drape themselves over one another, hold hands, talk to themselves, sing, drag sticks, chat in small groups at the stop sign across the street. Basking in the freedom of no adult supervision whatsoever if only for a moment. A treasure to behold. There's one group that consists of three boys and a girl. I often wonder when she...and they will become aware of her beauty. Will it suddenly be awkward or will they remain fast friends? I hope the latter is true.
It's their return trip that reminds me of my own childhood. It's that bit of time before the weight of homework and expectations hover down around them. Before they're required to use "inside" voices and stay within the lines. Before criticism and negativity and the burden of hectic schedules mar their glorious, youthful spirit. It's that snippet of time when they devour the joy of being young and free....when youth and health make happiness out of everything.
I could be wrong but, I bet they'd love to have pixie-stix for dinner...
