There are those who have memories of their youth that rival the adventures of Huckleberry Finn. They possess total recall of their moments of innocence lost. The camping trip when they snuck their first beer, how they got a scar jumping a fence in the middle of the night after TPing a neighbor’s yard, skipping school to go to the pool hall, bowling alley, Canada (my husband’s memory), that one time at band camp…recollections embellished or completely distorted to make us seem brave or at least, less lame.
Those of us who were subdued, if only temporarily, by those who took their Christian duty seriously may remember fewer youthful indiscretions, but it is quite possible we’ve simply blocked them out. My own memories are fragments of angelic wildness and heavenly fury. Yeah, that’s what they are. Not exactly bad, but not entirely good either. Sort of like a Polly Purebred / Wile E. Coyote mashup. The line between right and wrong not always clear, but when you crossed it, you got the belt. Well, some of us did. Some of us got a lecture and then taken out for ice cream.
What I remember most about being a kid is the uninhibited pleasure of playing outside in the rain, running barefoot on hot pavement with a dime and nickel clenched in my hand chasing after the ice cream truck, making necklaces out of long stem clover blooms, spinning round and round until I fell down or threw up carrot cake.
Yeah, I did that…once.
I also remember accidentally tying my brother to a lawn chair so tightly with twine while we were playing cops and robbers that when I slammed the back door where the end of the twine was tied, the chair fell over and my brother started turning blue. I got a serious whipping for that. I once accidentally shaved off my sister’s eyebrows with my dad’s Norelco shaver. I got it pretty good for that too. Accidents, I assure you.
I once “allowed” my youngest brother to get off the school bus to go home with a friend. If you guessed I got in trouble, you’re correct, but I’d outgrown whippings by then I just got grounded for not realizing I was my brother’s keeper. My brother didn’t get in trouble at all. That’s the way it was. I sometimes got in trouble for shit I didn’t even do. Well, except for my smart mouth, that was all me and I usually got back-handed for it.
Yesterday on the way home from my friend Susan’s Easter Palooza, (I took the deviled eggs) my husband and I were talking about possible reasons the Easter bunny stopped visiting me. I don’t remember anything bad I could have done that caused me to be denied a Cadbury egg, but whatever it was, I doubt if I’ve learned my lesson.
Spinning Song
Honie Briggs 
Lovely pics! I have some fond memories of when I was young, too. Like the time I went out and started the car for my parents, because they were taking forever to get ready and I figured I’d help them out and speed things up by pre-warming the car for them. I’d seen them do it a million times. How hard could it be? I was 10 years old. I got in BIG trouble for that. And I was just trying to help!!
lamb instead of ham – will remember that –we had prime rib because it was on sale and we cannot afford it unless it is on sale
All of us got into some mischief in our youth. And when we were very young, we were worried that the Easter Bunny wouldn’t stop at our house to leave us baskets and candy, but thankfully, he always did. Thank heavens for Peeps! And chocolate bunnies.
I was a goody two shoes as a kid so my ‘bad’ memories are more of climbing trees and then not being able to get down. That kind of embarrassment tends to stick with you. I’m still scared of heights but now I’ve learned to hide it better. 😀
Funny how we learn to do that. I really wasn’t a bad kid. Seriously.
-grin- You just had more opportunities than I did – I was an only child. 😉
beautiful photos and lovely talking lamb. the asparagus almost looks like something I could do. I was in the Principals office every week as a child, thrown out of classrooms on a regular basis. Thrown off the school bus, smart ass and lack of adult supervision, would not trade a minute of it! Great post, blocked memories got a little nudge, thanks!
Sounds like we could be related.
exactly.
Vomiting up carrot – that plays so well with these lovely images. I once won $25 in a gross sandwich contest (5th grade, I think) – you had to keep it down for 5 minutes. I outlasted the competition, barely. Childhood adventures – they were the best.
Too funny. Yeah, I won that carrot cake in a cake walk at my school right before Easter. I was so happy and couldn’t wait to have a slice. I couldn’t eat carrot cake or carrots for the longest time after that. What was in your gross sandwich?
We had to make them ourselves – Mine was a concoction of mayo, grape jam, sardines, and cheez wiz on rye – if I remember it correctly. $25 bucks on the line so I had to do what I though I could stand that no one could top. The kid with milk bones and chocolate bars – what a cop out – anyone could stomach that. I have never had a sardine since.
My god, Lorri, that is SICK! 😀 However, $25 bucks IS a lot of money to a kid, or at least it used to be.
It was sick – at least nothing was alive in it. I think I got some Levi’s and a pair of sneakers with that money, if you can believe that. It was a proud moment for me – I’m sure my name is on a plaque somewhere. I’m a bit more discriminating in my tastes these days.
Well if you had said it was smooth sailing as a kid and you rarely got in trouble – it would have have been a lot less believable. I so wish I could replay some of my childhood memories with adult eyes to get a better perspective on what really happened.
Wait, what are you saying, Lyle…that it’s obvious I must have been a trouble maker? HA! Yeah, my little boat seemed tempest tossed, but really not more than anyone else’s. My biggest offense, I think, was that I had no check valve.
It’s interesting how we all tend to make our lives a little more interesting than they need to be, just in different ways. It was a lucky guess:)
This post was so much fun, I don’t know where to begin! I loved, loved, loved the lamb video. So cute. And the pics are gorgeous as always. But lest you think I’m getting too cutesy and sentimental, I’ll tell you that while you were vomiting carrot cake, I was having a Doritos- and milk-eating contest with my brother (God knows why), and I ended up vomiting first. The product was quite an interesting color as you can imagine. I blame my brother as I do for all my improper childhood behavior.
Your comment made lentil soup come out my nose! Laughing hysterically – God! I should NOT eat while blogging. Brothers are great, aren’t they? I was doubly blessed. Both of them so hilarious we were in stitches all the time!
A friend sent me a lamb greeting in a text. His voice totally cracked me up and so when I saw that there is an app for it, well, too cute not to share.
I just showed your lamb video to my son. He loved it. And yeah, brothers are great. My brother and I were only 11 months apart to the day (go, Mom!), so we were inseparable. Which probably explains why I preferred GI Joe to Barbie and never got into princess stuff. Thank goodness for that.
Wonderful memories, Honie. Thanks for sharing them AND the bacon-wrapped asparagus photo. Are you a Witch? It is a devilishly attractive dish!
Am I a witch? Just because I brought the deviled eggs and can make lambs speak? Seriously. I didn’t make the bacon-wrapped dish. Much to my husband’s delight, my friend created that tasty treat.
Please extend to her my thanks for the idea, and to you for sharing it.
Q: Do you know why witches wear name tags at their conventions?
A: So they know which witch is which!
LOL!
WOW what a party. Looks like great fun.
We stopped having Easter baskets because my mother said we were too old. About 4-5th grade. Too old for birthdays, too. But we do have those pictures of us as kids dressed up and standing in front of the Easter Lilly flower bed in the yard….maybe that’s why it stopped, the Easter lillies disappeared?
Sounds like you were the oldest. Poor you! My brother was always trying to make me stand still or do something – really annoying…still is
Happy April! dance wildly without reason
The oldest, yes. The first to do everything wrong.
Of all these photos, the bacon-wrapped asparagus is the prettiest.
How manly of you to notice, Mr. Petruska. HA!
It caught my eye too, and now I’m drooling. 😉
The meal was delicious. My deviled eggs were a big hit too.
I haven’t had deviled eggs in a very long time. What’s your recipe?
well, eggs – boiled & sliced, remove the yolks and depending on what’s on hand, I mix spicy brown mustard, maybe prepared horseradish, a very little mayo, salt & pepper with the crumbled yolks to get the right consistency – then fill the whites and sprinkle with paprika. ta da! deviled eggs. easy peasy 😉
Mmmm…. that does sound delicious. I love both mustard and horseradish so I might give this a go on the weekend. 🙂