It only takes a trip out in the country where I was raised to send me down memory lane once again. It's Spring and everything is beautiful. It has rained a lot recently so everything is exceptionally green and inviting. While driving down a narrow country lane I wondered just how many times I had traveled that same road and how many times my parents must have made that same trip, in another day and another time. They are both gone now but their memories linger ever so sweet in my mind.
I remember Christmases past and I can almost smell the cedar trees we put up at Christmas. Mom usually wouldn't put the Christmas tree up until almost Christmas day. We would hound her for days to put the tree up until she would finally give in. We had few decorations but I remember just one string of beautifully lit candles on that tree every year; it was a sight to behold. They had the appearance of burning candles.....how beautiful they were. We sometimes made rope chains for the tree out of many colors of construction paper. Christmas was simple, as was life in general for us back then, but we had love in our home. I think of all the fuss a lot of us make over Christmas today and it makes me sad. I think that thru the hustle and bustle of Christmas we sometimes forget the true meaning of Christmas. We kids each received one simple gift and a bag of fruit, nuts and candy. That is all Mom and Dad could afford but that one gift was worth more to us kids than all the gold in the world.
Why, I'd give years of my life just to go back in time and relive some of my childhood. We were so poor but we never grasped the meaning of poor 'cause there were always three square meals on the table. Mom raised a garden in the Spring and another in the Fall and we would always can or freeze vegetables to last the entire winter. It was lots of work and, as a child, not something I relished having to do, but we all worked at it and put our hearts and souls into it. I remember my Mom having my brother and I wash a tub of cucumbers for her to can. We scrubbed them and ever so proudly announced that we were through. To our surprise, she put all the cucumbers back in the tub and made us wash them again. Come Sunday, Mom would put lunch on to cook and we'd all go to church. There was never a question as to whether we would go to church or stay home. Staying home when the church doors were open was simply not an option. My Mom and Dad were wonderful, loving and God-fearing people and they loved the Lord.
While driving down that country lane, I recalled how hard times were for Mom and Dad and I remember them talking about how they had to account for every penny that was spent. We kids had two pair of shoes each, one pair for Church and one pair of shoes for whatever else. Can you imagine having only two pairs of shoes today?? Life was simple with lots of hard work but the most important thing that we had money could not buy, and that was the love of two of the most wonderful parents in the world.
On my journey today, I recalled how we kids used to run thru the cornfields and listen to the rustling of the leaves on the cornstalks....and they can be noisy. Once I became lost, or so I thought, while playing in those rows of corn, and when I finally took control of my thoughts I realized that if I just followed the rows of corn I would find my way back home. I remembered too, how my dad used to raise watermelons and how he would cut them for us kids to eat out in the field. If you've never had that opportunity, then you just haven't lived! We kids would play out in that hot sand while the big trucks loaded the watermelons to take to market. I remember the crows were always flying overhead just waiting for a chance to lay claim to one of those watermelons.
Yes, I took a trip down memory lane today and I must admit a little bitty tear let me down.
The trip made me thankful for what I have, for the life I've lived and for the opportunity to once again remember just how wonderful life was way back when!
Helpful Hint:
Just some information concerning scented candles: They contain petroleum, therefore soot. My understanding is that they can cause cancer, including lung cancer.
Be safe and go the safer route:
Use 100% Natural Candles, Soy Candles or Beeswax Candles. The wicks should not be metal. Metal wicks have been banned in the U.S. since 1970.
