Childhood

What Doesn’t Kill You…

Jeanna G1 Comment

When I was little, I loved having the attention of my older brothers. They’re 11 and 12 years older, so they had many other interests aside from playtime with their baby sister. Needless to say, whenever I got their attention, I was up for anything…and I mean anything. 

A common activity was being timed on how fast I could do things for them. “Go get me a soda! I’ll time you!”

Or when we’d play hide and seek and they’d stuff me under the couch cushions and sit on me and act like they didn’t know where I was. 

Then there was that time Jon tore up the neighbor’s yard on his dirt bike while I was riding piggyback. 

Or that time they both got tired of babysitting, so they threw me in the backseat of the car for a joyride. They pulled so many donuts in a cul-de-sac that I’m still unable to get on carnival rides. 

But my favorite activity was playing Monster with Joe. The story line was always that he was the Monster, like as in Frankenstein’s, and someone was always trying to take away his Dolly (yours truly), so he had to keep me away from the bad guys. He’d whip me around in circles by one arm and then let go. I’d fly and roll across the yard and then run back for more. 

Now I know what you must be thinking… You wish you had brothers like mine, don’t you? 

Pound of Dirt

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Grandma says to eat a pound of dirt a year to be healthy. I ate my pound today, so I should be good until next November, right? I was out doing more yardwork than I had done all year. I blew leaves, raked, mowed. My dog likes to play fetch, so there are now dirt paths she takes to chase down her ball in my yard. When I was blowing leaves, I also blew a lot of dirt. There were clouds of dust and dirt swirling around me. By the time I was done, I literally had dirt coming out my nose. I went to the sink for some water, but decided to rinse out my mouth first when I felt grit on my teeth. When I wiped the drops of water from around my mouth, I could feel the dirt slide across my cheek. It was time for a shower. When I took off my socks, I thought I had gotten a tan, but then I realized it was a dirt line. I stared at the streams of dirt flowing down the center of the tub and felt pride. I hadn’t been that dirty in awhile.

I used to be dirty all the time when I was a kid. We’d roll down hills, jump in puddles, climb trees, stomp through creeks. In soccer, we knew we didn’t play hard enough if our socks weren’t covered in mud and grass stains by the final whistle. Kids don’t seem to be getting that dirty anymore.

My tween daughter is all about the beauty products these days. What’s trending? I need it. Well, honey, guess what? I just used this dirt and sweat exfoliant, and it works great! And it’s free! Add a little fresh air and sunshine, and your face will glow like mine!

Come on kids! Stop looking at sunset photos and playing games on your tech devices. Get outside. Find your own fun. Appreciate nature in 3-D. Eat some dirt. It’s good for you!

Old Town Home

Jeanna G1 Comment

If my memory serves me correctly, there used to be a Country Time Lemonade commercial that had Benny Goodman‘s “How Am I To Know” playing in the background while a boy rode his bike down a dusty country road in summer. Every time I hear that song, I picture myself as a child, riding my bike around my old town home.

Sun peeks through the curtains, time to get up and go.

Grab my pack and jump on my 10-speed.

Cruise down past the hardware store and the spinning pole of the barber shop to the town center, where my friend is waiting for a match on the lone tennis court.

Lose track of the score and decide we both earned a cone from the local ice cream shop.

Smile at the Maytag Man, who is sitting alone in front of his shop with nothing to do, of course.

Wave goodbye to my friend, and roll over to the park.

Down goes the kickstand while I pick a handful of blackberries along the entrance.

On to the tee ball field where the Blue Jays and the Pirates are in the bottom of the 3rd.

Bleachers are full, so I ride over to the playground.

A few flips over the parallel bars and then I take my chances on the steep metal slide.

Seat scorcher!

Once is enough.

What’s next?

Pedal down to the toy store to see what’s new in stock and add to my wish list for Santa.

Across to the aquarium shop to decide how I’ll spend my allowance.

Only a dollar left in my pocket.

Penny candy it is!

Spin back up to the center, up past the historic homes, tobacco barns, and churches, up past the video and package stores, to the one convenience store.

I count out 10 sticks of Fortune Bubble, 5 Pixy Stix, 5 Bit O’ Honey, 5 root beer barrels, a pack of Pop Rocks and a box of Nerds. I’ve still got a quarter to spare!

Take my bounty over to the pond to share with who’s fishing.

They say they threw them all back, so they had nothing to show. Same as last time!

Time to check on my 4-H calf. We take a stroll through the barn together.

Take the long way home, past the cemetery, library, and print shop.

Friends have a lemonade stand set up on the front walk. There goes my last coin.

Whiz past the market where I see mom pushing her cart to the suburban. One hour ‘til dinner.

Rush over to the neighbor’s to check on our tree forts.

Go karts are out, time for a race!

There’s the dinner bell,

right on time.

Wash up!

Bless the food.

What’d you do today, Li’l Bean?

Oh…not much.