This post got me to thinking. What Rob says is true, in a lot of ways. Thankfully, we’ve been able to introduce our kids to a lot of different things since we’ve moved here. Things that we didn’t have access to when living in a big city.
As far as blackberries, I would have to tell Rob I’ve got that one covered. There are woods behind most of the houses here in my neighborhood. Woods or retention ponds. We’ve got blackberries (from a neighbor's back yard) coming out the wazoo. What fun. I arm the kids (and not just mine) with a zip lock freezer bag and send them on their way. I think it’s hysterically funny that the majority of the blackberries never find their way back to my house. Where did they go? Take a look at the kids faces and shirts. I think you’ll find the answer there.
I remember that as a child, we would drive out to Indiana each summer and visit the loads of relatives we had there. My Uncle Otto had a rather large garden and we would catch butterflies and toads.
He'd let us pick what we wanted in that garden. I loved the green onions. I would pick a few and run into the house and my Aunt Dede would clean them up for me and I'd go back outside munching away. Same thing with carrots. My brothers and I used to have contests to see who could eat the hottest pepper without having to go drink a glass of water.
I remember that Aunt Edna would host a reunion when we came into town. She would set up huge pots for corn on the cob. I don't know if any of you have ever tasted the sweet white corn found in the midwest or not but just thinking of it makes me salivate. Mom never limited us to how many we could have and I'd wager I'd eat a least 1/2 dozen. She would wrap the left overs up and put them in the refridgerator and then we'd just grab one from time to time and eat it cold for a snack. Aunt Dede would make German potatoe salad. It's funny. I have that recipe but haven't made it to this day. I think I'll try it out this summer though. And we would have loads of barbeque beef, thinly sliced, and slowly cooked all day.
I remember Uncle Carl and Aunt Minnie. Uncle Carl was this seriously tall, completely bald man. I remember him as being really quiet but he would let me ride on his shoulders. They had this huge cooler with bottled sodas (another thing Mom didn't limit us on) and he'd always open it up for me, and help me pop the top off. Aunt Minnie had a stroke so she couldn't talk or walk. She was in a wheelchair. To this day, I couldn't tell you why (I don't recall her ever not being in the wheelchair) but I loved that woman. I was forever running up to her and giving her kisses. I can clearly see her big grin in my mind each time I did.
For some reason, I'm really hungry right now. Do you have a good memory to share while I go get a snack?
Comments
Here's one: several years back when DH and I were hiking in the Grand Tetons, we happened across a wild rasperry patch. I had never had fresh-picked berries, and these were delectable, and oh so fun! Gee, I hope we didn't break park rules, but if we did, it was for a grand experience.
Posted by: Mellie Helen at May 19, 2005 05:15 PM
What a great post Moogie! My best memories of that nature are of my childhood summers. We would spend our summer vacations at my Grandparents house in the mountains. We too, picked blackberries, and my grandmother would make cobbler out of the ones that made it home. Then we'd pour some fresh cream on top, that we got from the trip to the dairy, skimmed from the bottles of milk. (i'm probably going to have a heart attack one day from that). It was sooo good, and such good memories!!
Posted by: Suzanne at May 19, 2005 09:32 PM
I loved this post. My best memories are of being a child and doing anything with my parents. We went fishing, gardening, for rides, it was all special. It is amazing how something can trigger your memories and they come back to you like raging flood waters.
By the way I tagged you on my site.
Posted by: Melonie at May 20, 2005 11:11 AM