The above photo is very near my folks home in the country. As I get older I take more and more photos of the land near by because I miss the area and I miss the times I had growing up. When you live in the country you are away from all the hustle and hub bub. You can buy like two weeks of groceries go home and never see anyone. You can come out at night and listen to the crickets and birds and suck in the cool spring air.
I remember a lot about growing up but the biggest thing I remember is my families ability to give. At that time my parents were making less than poverty but you know we always had clothes and we always had food. In the summer we would make hay and oats/any extra would be donated to other farmers who did not have a good year. My parents always volunteered at the local church and helped with meals and that sort of thing.
At night in the summer we played baseball in the fields with our neighbors and all the neighborhood kids would come. If we ever did watch tv we had 3 channels and those we did not have to pay for. On Saturday nights my parents would always watch Hee Haw and that the Lawrence Welk show.
I guess what I miss about growing up in the country is life is just simple. In today's world there are so many material things which you really don't need. Everyone has to have a boat, or a motorcycle or the latest gadget. Maybe because I never had those things growing up I dont miss them. What I do miss though is everything to do with living in the country.
The Black Widow
This reminds me so much of my own youth. Very similar circumstances. Yes, I think it would be wonderful if people would come to realize that true substance is in the things of the spirit and the life found in country living. Nothing like going outside and breathing the fresh air, listening to all the sounds of nature and feeling a closeness to Life itself. I Love your photo. It looks familiar, in that it is almost identical to at least two roads I once lived down. Very fine post.
ReplyDeleteLovely post! I could so relate to what you were saying. I know too many parents who mow the lawn while plump teenage sons sleep/look at tv/play computer games. Of course, it's the result of bad parenting (teaching work ethic, respect, and so on), and how sad it is that so much has come to that. I personally think work adapted to the kid's age is good for him/her...but I'm showing my age here, also the fact that we couldn't get tv reception in our area, a bit of scratchy radio. So we kids played with each other, even invented fun games...probably what you did as well. It's curious, tho, I also know parents who have horrible memories of having to do simple chores. This blows me away! I mean, wow!
ReplyDeleteThere's another reason to take pictures of the old neighborhood - all too soon it may be subdivided. I'm five miles from town, but there's a subdivision only an arrow's flight from the corner of my property!
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