AN EYES OF WONDER POST

Many of you dear readers were followers of Eyes of Wonder back in the day (for those that don't know what I mean, my mama had a blog for a few years and documented the life of our family). 

All of us children still have access to the blog (it's private now) and occasionally I go back to re-read her writings. I thought it might be a nice treat for some of the long-time-ago readers to see one of her posts again.

A Simply Lovely Life.

The simple joys of childhood.....

catching fireflies, putting them in a jar with holes in the lid--making a lantern

picking dandelion bouquets

you and your three sisters, wrestling and tickle-fighting with your dad, in the living room. him, on his hands and knees, hair all scruffed-up, growling like a big grizzly bear. you, trembling, giggling, jumping up and down, nevertheless, mustering the courage and running in, again and again, for more

getting cracker jacks from your dad--enjoyin' the cracker jacks and diggin' for the prize

going barefoot for the first time in the spring, and all through the summer

your mom playing vintage 78/rpm Strauss albums on the stereo. her being so filled with joy while she listened to the music as it filled the house and her childlike heart

watching your mom dance with your baby sister and thinkin' one day, when you grow up, you're gonna dance the very same, soft, loving way, with your own babies held close

flying kites

wearing seersucker pajamas in the summertime

wearing a fur jumper that matched your sisters, that your mom made--and bein' so proud

swinging on the swingset, with your siblings and your neighborhood friends and singing the afternoon away

being called in for supper, about the same time that all the other neighborhood children were called into their homes for supper, too

doing the dishes as quickly as you could, if it was your night, so you could run back out to play

playing jump rope and chinese jump rope with your friends

playing hopscotch on the sidewalk

rollerskating up and down your neighborhood sidewalks, wearing the metal rollerskates that buckled on with a strap round your ankle, clamped over your toe, and adjusted with a key

the wonderful feeling of lying in the grass in summer, lookin' up at the clouds

feeling free, overflowing with life, running, doing cartwheels and round-offs....

building forts

spending hours in the pool,  til your lips were blue
running through the sprinkler
spraying each other with the hose

baking cakes and cookies and pretzels in an easy bake oven

swinging on the big swings at the playground, going as high as you could, feet reaching to the sky, head laid back, wind blowing through your hair

every summer, going to the hugely wonderful public wading pools, with the mile-high slides in the middle, water spraying into the air.  a huge feast-- a picnic, spread out on the picnic table and blankets and towels to lie down and warm in the sun and dream upon. your skin nut brown, your hair golden.......a way back, when you went to school for a year and had a year off for summer vacation--or so it sure did seem, til you were old enough to know better.

eating popsicles and ice cream cones

making snowcones in your mr. frosty snowcone machine, that you got for Christmas

lying in the hammock, reading a book, drifting away into a dream

blowing bubbles

going to woolworth's with your grandma, eating lunch at the diner, havin' your picture taken in the photo booth, for fifty cents, birds, and fish, and hamsers and mice, upstairs, downstairs, toys, and music. always going home with treasures

riding a two-wheeler for the first time, your dad teachin' you how, and cheerin' you on, running to comfort you, and encourage you to try again, after you've wiped-out in the gravel drive-way

the delight of riding your bike, every year a little further, til you're makin' your way around the neighborhood--and the thrill of getting a brand new one

playing in your dollhouse

a new puppy brought home in your dad's pocket
another new puppy, brought home in a brown paper lunch sack

a new kitten

talking to your dog (and wondering if your dog *could* with enough coaxing and promising not to tell anyone--talk back to you) (if *you didn't* think this or do this, i understand :o)

spending the day and then the night, at your grandma and grandpa's house, with your little sister and your cousin--riding your bike to get there--cause it's only a block away. limberger cheese and smoked fish,  liverwurst, rye bread, home movies, bubble baths in the pink bathtub, wearing your grandma's silky-soft night gown, old books, music, the garden, picking enormous lilac bouquets, sleeping, on the couch, the pull-out bed, or in your grandma's bed--hearing birdsong and smelling bacon cooking in the morning.

spending the night at your grandma and grandpa's house
gathering asparagus along the country roadside, on the way to their house, cooking it up and eating it with butter, soon as you got there.

summer days in arkansas.....
uncle ott and aunt virginia's
eggs and bacon, biscuits, gravy
wooden screen doors creaking on the hinges
porch swings
riding horses
summertime baths in metal washtubs
playing restaurant
big cozy double beds, talking all night with cousins, open windows, cricket song

milking the cow, gathering eggs, swimming in the pond, making butter, watching your grandpa shave--every morning--talking and laughing with him all the while, seeing the sun come up, woods and snakes, and fresh air and love........

making peach ice cream in the hand-cranked ice cream maker at buck moore's house, dressing up in dress-up clothes (dresses, hats, shoes, and purses) and "goin' all over the place", in an old car they had parked out in the field. delicious southern food, southern hospitality, cats and dogs, wishing the day would never end, feelin' like home. night fall, eye-lids heavy, children tucked into a big cozy bed--the big wooden screen door, creaking on it's hinges--drifting off to sleep, til your mom and dad are done with their visiting, and it's time to go--takin' all your magical memories made, safely tucked away--along with you

camping, campfires, roasting hot dogs, making s'mores. eating vienna sausages, drinking instant coffee

eating tomatoes and cucumbers fresh from the garden

thinkin' and dreamin' about what you'll do and who you'll be--when you grow up
who you'll marry one day
and what he'll be like
how many children you'll have
what you'll name them, and who they'll be

playing with playdough

making vegatable soup, with cut up vegetables and water--and eating it, even though it didn't really taste very good

feeding the birds.......

I hope you enjoy your day, and are able to share your joy with those you love, and everyone else your life touches. I hope you'll be free, to be open, real, truly yourself, with a childlike heart. This day will be unlike any day that ever was, or ever will be--God's gift to you, with countless treasures, everywhere you turn, throughout it--let us not miss them.

Your old pal and fellow treasure seeker, Jewels