Memories

Scarlett and Anna went bowling last Saturday. Their friend, Cade, had a bowling birthday party for his 7th birthday, and the girls had LOTS of fun!

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Anytime I mention Anna, I have 2 immediate thoughts...

"I love her Mother" and "I'm so glad that Scarlett and Anna have each other".

I remember growing up and not having a friend that lived near me. It was the one thing that I feel like I "missed out on" as a little girl....and as a big girl. We always lived out in the middle of the sticks. My childhood memories, while filled with pleasantries of all kinds, do not include memories of running in and out of the neighbors house with some friend who was my age. They do not include memories of me hanging out with the neighborhood kids or walking next door to borrow an egg when Mom needed one.

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Basically, they include lots of family memories. And those family memories will give the neighborhood memories, a run for their money sometimes!

I remember times when my younger brother and I would poke each other in the eye for fun...REALLY! Summer days spent swimming in the algae filled pool in our back yard in Polk County (HEY!...ponds have algae!), because we didn't have enough water to operate the pool properly. And what about those water issues, anyway? Ah, the memories! Of very cold winters settling in to burst the pipes, leaving us with no running water in the house. Occasions (many) when we had to dip pool water out in a pot and boil it in order to take a bath. Memories of my brother scooping handfuls of change from Mama's pocketbook and flushing it down the toilet because he liked to watch it billow up in the toilet water (sorry Jonathan!). And I'll NEVER forget this incident:

In the sweltering heat of the summer, when my brother and I were approximately 4 and 12 (respectfully), Mama would move us into the guest bedroom on the main level of our log home. We didn't have central heat or air, so the upstairs would turn into a sauna during the summertime. In the guest bedroom, we could actually cool off a few degrees in order to sleep. Daddy always said night-night prayers and put us to bed, with the threat of a beatin' if we dared to get up.

So there we were...2 little kids with nothing to do but go to sleep. The cute little brother who adored his older sister. The older sister who looked for ways to get the annoying little brother in trouble (unbeknownst to the little brother at that time). One night, as we laid in the bed giggling, I came up with a most brilliant idea.

I was thirsty.

"Jonathan" I whispered.

"Huh?"

"Jonathan, I'm thirsty" I said.

"So?" cute little brother replied.

"SOOOoooo...I need you to get me a glass of water" I snickered.

"NO!!!...Daddy will spank me!" the little monster replied.

"No, no...he won't know that you're getting it" I deceptively suggested to him, "because you're little enough to go into the kitchen without being seen...he won't even see you".

"Yes he will! And Daddy will spank me!"

"Jonathan...do you want ME to get a spanking?" I asked, "He'll definitely see me! Just be very quiet and take this glass to the sink and fill it up with water. If you tiptoe back, Daddy will never know." I held my breath so he wouldn't realize how hard I was laughing on the inside...

"Jonathan...pllllleeeeeeaaaaase?".

While little brother considered this, I added..."I'm sooooo thirsty".

"You won't tell Daddy, will you?" that sweet little innocent preschooler asked.

"NO!!!!" I coughed to hide my horse-laughter, "and Jonathan"

"Yes?"

"Fill it all the way up to the top, because I'm very thirsty!"

So very silently, Jonathan got out of the bed, took the glass (that Daddy always sat on the nightstand for us to have a sip of water out of), and proceeded to creep into the kitchen. Did I mention that the glass already had a little bit of water in it? The kitchen had linoleum floors, and the guest room was right off of the kitchen. So I knew that Jonathan, in his footy pajamas, would not be heard.

I held my breath as he crept over to the kitchen sink. I watched with bated breath as he stood on tippy-toes and silently pushed up the spicket lever and slowly filled the glass. And when he turned around, water sloshing gently over the sides, I knew I would remember this for as long as I lived.

Jonathan crept silently back to our room, and as his pj clad foot touched the door frame, I screamed as LOUD as I could, "JONATHAN'S OUT OF THE BED!!!"

Little brother screamed and immediately started crying as we heard Daddy thunder back towards our room. The glass of water was inadvertently splashed backwards, as his little hand jerked back in startled shock from my warrior cry.

As Daddy reached the door, I laid stock still in the bed while Jonathan stood there crying. It was an award winning moment! And one I'll never forget.

I don't remember getting a spanking that time, and Daddy can hardly remember that incident, considering all that Jonathan and I got into as children. But that story is told and re-told at nearly every gathering that our family has. And just like always happens, 2 days from now, we'll be crying from laughter as we re-tell the crazy memories we made being a family "way back then".

I guess that explains why I'm not really concerned that my own children are growing up out in the sticks. The memories they'll have of all the crazy stuff they do together "down on the farm" will never be matched by riding bikes in a cul-de-sac somewhere.

Anna & Scarlett's memories will be an extension of our family memories.

And there's just no place like home...