Life Was Simple Back Then.
When I look back to when I was growing up, it was a simple time.
We didn't have a lot of money and didn't live extravagantly or "high off the hog" as my daddy would say. But we lived comfortably. Daddy was a farmer who was in the field from sun up to sundown working the land and providing for his family. He worked hard, but played hard when the work was done.
Summer was always a magical time around the farm. From the moment the sun came up our house came alive. Breakfast, chores, cleaning, gardening, cooking, mending, and plenty of time for laughter and love.
In the summer, my youth was spent pretty much barefoot and sun kissed. I don't think I wore a pair of shoes in the summer time; I loved the feeling of the earth under the soles of my feet - I felt free. And lordy did I bellyache if I had to put on a pair for some reason. Mom, of course, would scold me - but she always had a smile when she did it.
And the sun! If it was up, I was out enjoying it. I didn't slather on sunscreen back then - still don't for that matter. I loved the warmth on my skin, the golden glow I'd get and the way my freckles would pop out on the bridge of my nose and cheeks. My usual summer attire was a swimsuit top and a pair of shorts and hair pulled up in a top-knot and smelling like baby oil (gotta moisturize the tan, you know!)
Sometimes I'd take a blanket out on the lawn and read a book (I loved romance stories and the way I could travel to far away lands without leaving my slice of heaven), sipping on a tall glass of mom's famous sweet tea. One of my favorite things to do was to lay with my dog Sneaky and watch the fluffy white clouds drift across the summer sky. My head would lay on Sneakys tummy and we'd lay like that for hours, trying to figure out what shapes the clouds were (sometimes an elephant, a cat, monkey, or even a flower). More often than not I'd fall asleep. But that's alright, I was with my sidekick best friend, my dog Sneaky. Mom said that she never worried about me, cuz he was my protector.
As much as I loved the sunshine and being out in it, the nights were my favorite time. I had a window in my bedroom that was just a foot off the floor. When I was supposed to be sleeping, I'd be laying on blankets and pillows moved from my bed and gazing out at the night sky and the stars. I'd pick out the brightest star in the night sky and close my eyes, "Star light, Star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight."
I'd ponder the meaning of my life - at the ripe age of 10 - and hope and wish for a future as bright as the diamonds in the night sky. I would dream about the husband I'd have and kids running around my feet. Sometimes I'd dream that I was a dancer or a singer making it big in Hollywood, or sometimes I'd just wonder what the world was like "out there" under that big, dark, beautiful night sky. I had no idea what my life was going to be like, but when I was 10 and star gazing, the possibilities were endless.
Barefoot, sunkissed and full of hope.
Life was simple back then.
We didn't have a lot of money and didn't live extravagantly or "high off the hog" as my daddy would say. But we lived comfortably. Daddy was a farmer who was in the field from sun up to sundown working the land and providing for his family. He worked hard, but played hard when the work was done.
Summer was always a magical time around the farm. From the moment the sun came up our house came alive. Breakfast, chores, cleaning, gardening, cooking, mending, and plenty of time for laughter and love.
In the summer, my youth was spent pretty much barefoot and sun kissed. I don't think I wore a pair of shoes in the summer time; I loved the feeling of the earth under the soles of my feet - I felt free. And lordy did I bellyache if I had to put on a pair for some reason. Mom, of course, would scold me - but she always had a smile when she did it.
And the sun! If it was up, I was out enjoying it. I didn't slather on sunscreen back then - still don't for that matter. I loved the warmth on my skin, the golden glow I'd get and the way my freckles would pop out on the bridge of my nose and cheeks. My usual summer attire was a swimsuit top and a pair of shorts and hair pulled up in a top-knot and smelling like baby oil (gotta moisturize the tan, you know!)
Sometimes I'd take a blanket out on the lawn and read a book (I loved romance stories and the way I could travel to far away lands without leaving my slice of heaven), sipping on a tall glass of mom's famous sweet tea. One of my favorite things to do was to lay with my dog Sneaky and watch the fluffy white clouds drift across the summer sky. My head would lay on Sneakys tummy and we'd lay like that for hours, trying to figure out what shapes the clouds were (sometimes an elephant, a cat, monkey, or even a flower). More often than not I'd fall asleep. But that's alright, I was with my sidekick best friend, my dog Sneaky. Mom said that she never worried about me, cuz he was my protector.
As much as I loved the sunshine and being out in it, the nights were my favorite time. I had a window in my bedroom that was just a foot off the floor. When I was supposed to be sleeping, I'd be laying on blankets and pillows moved from my bed and gazing out at the night sky and the stars. I'd pick out the brightest star in the night sky and close my eyes, "Star light, Star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight."
I'd ponder the meaning of my life - at the ripe age of 10 - and hope and wish for a future as bright as the diamonds in the night sky. I would dream about the husband I'd have and kids running around my feet. Sometimes I'd dream that I was a dancer or a singer making it big in Hollywood, or sometimes I'd just wonder what the world was like "out there" under that big, dark, beautiful night sky. I had no idea what my life was going to be like, but when I was 10 and star gazing, the possibilities were endless.
Barefoot, sunkissed and full of hope.
Life was simple back then.
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