Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Wednesday Question

My Wednesday question from Jose2Shoes is:

"I notice you and your husband doing a wonderful job of making special memories with your granchildren. What do you recall as being the happiest memory of your own childhood?"

ANSWER: My childhood was different from most kids. My father was married early in life, had 4 children, and was later divorced. He met and married my mother much later. I am the only child of that union. He was 58 and she was 45 at the time I was born. The short answer is that I was raised by parents old enough to be my grandparents. For the most part I think my early childhood was pretty lonesome but I don't remember much of it.

I can recall many happy times after I was 10 or 12 but it's hard to remember one as being THE special memory. One was my parents getting my mustang/quarter horse and allowing me to participate in barrel racing and penning competitions in little local rodeos. Another was the pool in the summer. Long lazy days - water and sun - puffy clouds - iced tea - Toby (my collie dog) licking my feet to get my attention.

As I've thought about this question one special time does stand out in my mind. I can almost smell the mix of wood smoke, hear the quiet of snowfall, and feel that darn wool sweater scratching me. Inside the house there was an adult party with music. It was Christmas Eve and a friend and I were sitting in my front yard watching our world be covered with a soft white blanket. The peace and contentment of that evening was almost hypnotic. During many stressful times I've recalled that memory and drawn comfort from it. I only wish I had a better ability to describe this memory but words are just inadequate.

3 comments:

josie2shoes said...

Mary, this was a lovely answer, and gave me a bit of an intro into who you are! I spent many hot summer days at our local swimming pool, after talking my parents into buying a season pass. While I didn't have many friends there, I loved being in the cool water, and the night pool sessions even more!

Childhood Christmas memories - magical! I can do just like you, smell the smells of pine trees and wonderful things baking, see the big colored lights hanging from everyone's eves and windows, the big sparkly tinsel garlands that hung across our Main Street, and cold freezing our breath into clouds, and the lovely crunch of snow under our feet - I wanna go back and do one more Christmas just like that, if only we could!!

C.A. said...

My question to you, Dear Mary is...

has your life turned out the way you expected it to?

Hugs...

C.A.

Mary said...

CindiAnn, never in my wildest imagination.

I married a confirmed bachelor 20 years my senior. When I finally accepted the fact that I wasn't #1 in his life I promised myself that no matter what happened I would be independent. I struggled my way to a professional career which began when I was 35 years old. I worked and competed in a man's world. It took awhile but I managed to reach a level that allowed me to build an acceptable retirement. I was completely at peace with my situation except I was lonely but never thought I'd ever have another companion because it was so hard for me to trust. Then in a blink of an eye Harry came into my life. It was wonderful to have found my soul mate. I have two sons and he has a daughter and son. If you were just meeting our little family you would never believe the kids weren't raised together. They aren't jealous of each other and offer support when one of the siblings need it. They all give complete respect to both Harry and me.

Yes, the road was rough and at times I thought I couldn't make it. But my reward has come in the autumn of my life. This little family is truly blessed.