My childhood ran at a slow pace. I had plenty of room to run, but even if I had grown up in an apartment in the city, I know I would have had the same feeling of wide open spaces. It's because of the gift of time.
Often, I thought I was bored. Those moments forced me to nurture my creativity. I remember building my own Japanese dollhouse out of stuff around the house after I read a book about a Japanese family. Even the tiny details fascinated me--the tea, the beds, the screens.
We had a long, gravel driveway and an enormous tree out front. The simple act of getting the mail became a welcome diversion by waltzing up the driveway and checking out the wild daisies and milkweed that grew along it. Crimson ladybugs lived in the tree one month each summer, and my sister and I would play with them. When you're a kid, you notice this stuff. I couldn't tell you if any of my current trees have an annual ladybug gathering, and getting the mail is a ten step jaunt now.
I don't miss being a child. Grown-ups get to make their own decisions. However, I do miss that sense of infinite time. I miss dawdling up a gravel driveway with nothing better to do than check out weeds. The wide open spaces I miss are the mental ones.
Did you have wide open spaces as a child? Were they more mental than physical? Do you enjoy wide open spaces now?
Join me on Friday to set one goal!
I think mine were both physical and mental. Being a kid is so unique. We don't realize how beautiful childhood is until we're grown, I think.
ReplyDeleteSweet post. :-)
I'm with Jessica. Mine were both. There was nothing like the feeling of rolling down a hill. When you were young, you could care less about grass stains and bruises.
ReplyDeleteAh.
Thanks for this memory.
~ Wendy
Mine included a larger than life lake-Lake Ontario. We'd ride our bikes and skip stones for hours. Now I live in the prairies where only small rivers divide the land. I do miss waves!
ReplyDeleteAh, you bring back my own childhood so vividly. We played with roly-polys and caught frogs, climbed trees and had lemonade stands, pulled the silks from milkweed pods and blew dandelion seeds.
ReplyDeleteThey were mental and physical--folded inside the spines of my books!
ReplyDeleteOh, I loved those times of escape and nourishment and learning.
Get to revisit them from time to time.
GREAT POST!!
P
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteJessica: No, we don't recognize them. You're so right!
Wendy: Ha! We did that every time we went to my Grandma's. Roll down the hill, over and over. :)
Lynn: Gorgeous! There's something magical about the water.
Erica: Summer in the mid-west. Perfect! I still get tempted to pull the silk from milkweed, except I can't stand the stickiness.
Patti: Books, books, books! A staple in my childhood!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
I had both mental and physical wide open spaces as a child. I grew up on a farm surrounded by fields. I played outside a LOT during the summer and fall and created my own worlds. My two brothers and I loved to go exploring.
ReplyDeleteI also loved creating and built my own Barbie dollhouse out of cardboards boxes. I, too, loved all the time I had!
I had physical and mental wide open spaces. I do so miss that feeling of infinite time. It seems every year that goes by, time passes more quickly.
ReplyDelete*sigh* the more grown up I am the more I miss those glory days of languishing in front of the TV or making mud pies in the back yard in my bright pink easter basket. Thanks for the flashback!
ReplyDeleteMy childhood was fraught with strife and drama. I was mostly happy in spite of it, and because of a mom who took me to church, where I learned about the wide open spaces in Jesus.
ReplyDeleteAre red ladybugs different?
Ah, yes. I used to tromp down a circle of hay in the field across the street and lay down. The world disappeared into green walls and blue sky. And I spent hours there. Glorious.
ReplyDeleteI don't have many wide open spaces anymore.
I miss some aspects of childhood. There are plenty of days too, as an adult, I wish I didn't have to be the big person and do grownup things. Oh well, comes with the territory:)
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Karen
I had mental and physical wide open spaces as a child... and I pray that my children will have the same. And, sometimes pancakes are the best dinner, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteI feel as if studying was always taking so much of my time even when I was a child, but i also remember playing with my dolls and building stories about their lives. I wonder if you still have that dollhouse?
ReplyDeleteMelissa: A farm! Fun! Tell me you used shoes for Barbie cars? We always did!
ReplyDeleteSusan M: You aren't imagining it. I read a scientific study about how the longer you live, the shorter each day feels based on percentage of time lived and 24 hours. Hard to explain, but true!
T.Anne: Bright pink Easter baskets! I want one of those. Fun!
Jen: That makes me sad. I'm very glad you found a wonderful friend to take you to church. And yes, red ladybugs don't bite or smell. Much nicer than those orange ones!
Elana: I want a field of hay to lie in. Sounds glorious!
Karen: Uggh! I know! Responsibility isn't always fun!
Erin: I want the same for mine. And yes, pancakes are a lovely dinner! Much better than perch! Ha!
Abby: Studying is good and all, but sometimes you need to just meander and relax. I still do, at least! No, I don't have the dollhouse. But I have great memories of it and that's all I care about!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Great food for thought. These could be lines of a prosey poem: I miss dawdling up a gravel driveway with nothing better to do than check out weeds. The wide open spaces I miss are the mental ones.
ReplyDeleteI had wide open spaces (interior and exterior) as a child too, and miss them. Have made it my "beeswax" for the last six months to get more of both.
I love wide open spaces, which is why I love the Texas panhandle;) My childhood had lots of open spaces and plenty of time and very little worries. I do miss those moments, but I agree that being an adult and making our own decisions is nice.
ReplyDeleteEvery year when I was a kid we used to do long car trips, six or seven hours of driving at a time. My brother and I lolled around in the backseat, looked out the window, daydreamed, read and otherwise occupied ourselves. To this day I can still stare out the window for hours on end lost in my own thoughts if you give me the time.
ReplyDeleteI often think my kids are missing something when we throw on a dvd or turn on the DS. Sure they're entertained and quiet, but would they be better lost in their own little worlds like I used to be.
Angie: Oh, you poet, you! I agree, nice ring to it!
ReplyDeleteKara: I can picture Texas the way you describe it. Sounds right up my alley!
Kelly: I worry about my kids not getting enough time to be bored--er, creative. You are definitely not alone on that one.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Hi Jill -
ReplyDeleteI'm a city kid, but I remember hot summer nights, the sounds of the Mister Softy ice cream truck, tea parties on the back porch, and "swimming" in a small pool.
Sometimes I miss those carefree times, but each season has its own flavor.
Blessings,
Susan :)
Too often I'm so caught up in what I'm doing and that I don't have time that the wonderful things in life pass me by.
ReplyDeleteI had a wonderful childhood. I remember days of floating down the canal, picking clover to make necklaces, and gathering a dandelion bouquet. Ah to be young again.
Thanks for reminding me to stop and smell the roses.
Susan JR: Love your memories--they sound wonderful!
ReplyDeleteKathi: Same here. Busy, busy but miss that slow time. I've always wondered how to make clover necklaces!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Hi! I just stumbled across your blog and I just wanted to tell you I love it. Following :)
ReplyDeleteMeika: Thank you, you made my day!
ReplyDeleteYou described this so beautifully. Yes, I had many open spaces. I also miss that sense of time going on forever. Did you ever play with the mildweed pods? Just getting one and pulling the fluffy seeds out one by one was a thrill for me.
ReplyDelete