Up a country road.....

(Me in my high school years)

How I miss country life up that old country road. I miss the long evenings of catching lightning bugs with mason jars. I miss drawing hopscotch on the patio with a piece of chalk and going down in the driveway to get a rock to toss for the game.

(Me, Daddy, my sister Rachel)

 I miss the endless hours of playing jacks and jumping road. I miss playing marbles in the dirt in the driveway and running Matchbox cars down the concrete draining ditch Daddy put on the hill. I miss the end of summer when school starts and the evenings grow shorter. I miss hot chocolate after bath time, when the winter winds are howling outside. I miss cheeseburgers, Pepsi, barbeque Snyder's and Saps donuts for supper every Thursday. I miss playing Sorry and Mille Bornes and Monopoly for endless hours. I miss the board game sets Uncle Charlie would get us for Christmas. I miss jumping in leaves and the smell of them burning at the end of the evening. I miss hot dogs and marshmallows over the old charcoal grill.

(L-R: Me, my cousin Nancy sitting, sister Rachel standing and brother Jack)

 I miss Mommy sprinkling the clothes that came in from the line and tying them up in a tablecloth. She would put them in the refrigerator and then iron them the next day while we watch Pete and Gladys, I Love Lucy, and Hazel.

(Me and Rachel)

I miss me and my sister listening to those old 45's and dreaming about our boyfriends. I miss my brother's playing in the next room.

(Daddy, Jack, Rachel and Me) 

I miss long walks on Sunday up in the woods. I miss Sunday dinner with fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and hot rolls. I miss chocolate cake and cold sliced peaches for dessert. I miss coming back from our Sunday walks and drinking a big tall glass of ice cold well water. Clean, clear and pure. There has never been anything to quinch the thirst like that old well water.

(Me and my baby brother, Andy)

I miss walking up town to Herald's Barber Shop with Daddy for his hair cut and I remember Herald teasing me and asking me if I wanted him to cut all those curls off (I had Shirley Temple hair when I was little.) I remember going with Daddy into Brady's Hardware and I remember their old paint stained hardwood floors that creaked when you walked.

(Rachel and me, the last year we got dolls for Christmas)

I miss so many things about that time, but the love is still there. The bonds are still as strong as they were in our childhood and the memories will forever keep us young.

(Me)