My journey on the Path less traveled. Introverted survivor of childhood abuse using writing to “Bring on the thriving!” A little lopsided sometimes, stubborn, but smart enough to know it’s time to truly heal! 🙏🏻❤️
Category Archives: Childhood Memories – The Good ones!
Memories that I hold on to, that despite the family abuse issues allowed normal and fun activities to still happen. Loving and fun memories!
As summer is starting up this year, it gets me thinking about those childhood days. There’s just nothing like summer to a kid!
It might sound cliche, but none of my favorite summer memories had anything to do with money. There’s so much to be said about just getting outside, and then staying out almost all day!
All time Favorites
rolling down a favorite hill
bike riding with friends until the street lights came on
finding that perfect climbing tree, branch low enough to boost yourself
spreading out a blanket for a picnic lunch
two kids sideways swinging on the same swing
making cloud pictures
firefly chasing at night
smelling honeysuckle bushes lining the church driveway
learning how to filet the fish I just caught with grandpa
pushing his old boat into Sugar Lake and jumping in
Oh, I could go on and on,….Another amazing life lesson, growing up with hardly any money to spare and honestly not caring about it one bit.
Live, Laugh, Love with everything you’ve got while you still can! 💜✨ Thanks so much for stopping by. I truly appreciate and value you all here.
Ok, I’ve written a few times here about how I’m not a trend follower. In fact, my favorites seem to be the more simplistic, but still beautiful, things in life.
While driving down the road this weekend, in the gorgeous spring weather, I couldn’t help but notice all the vibrant glowing yellow dandelions popping up in the fields.
That’s it!!I’ve forgotten how much I love the dandelions wildly growing in the velvety green meadows/fields/and yes – yards! Too bad they get weeded out of most yards.
This flower represents so much that is good to me. Remembering my horticulturist mother saying how every part of the plant is edible. Reading how they grow in areas where their nutrients are actually needed. And of course, the one we all know, go ahead and pull it out but it’ll grow back twice as strong.
Maybe I’m relating to this weed (FLOWER) more than I realized before for many, many reasons. Again, going my own path here, dandelions bring back beautiful childhood memories.
And I’m going to hold on to those ones!
Live, Laugh, Love with everything you’ve got while you still can! 💜✨ Thanks so much for stopping by. I truly appreciate and value you all here.
Are you born an Old Soul? Or does it happen over time to some of us through our life experiences? I’m not sure about the answer to this one, but I do feel that some of us are naturally wired towards this type of personality. And then if you’re wired for it, and your environment fosters it, well then…. you’ll feel double the joy, double the pain, and the overall extreme complexity of a true Old Soul.
As an only child raised in a very Old Fashioned religious faith, dresses, no makeup, no hair cutting, no tv,…; I’d say my environment nurtured me towards the simple, nonmaterialistic, strong faith and community driven frame of mind. While my peers where watching Dukes of Hazzard and buying up all the different colored jelly shoes; I was reading stacks of books, climbing trees, and living an “old school” outdoor kid life, bare feet and all.
#childhood #swingsets #thesimplejoys #natureheals
My upbringing did instill a deep love of reading, eating real foods from the garden, true honest friendships, and continuously performing needed community service and seeking to help others. On a bad emotional day, because I do have them, I’d probably sound more cynical about the social things I missed; but today, on a good day, it’s so obvious to me that I was given a rare childhood gift from my family.
No, I didn’t know all the MTV songs, but yes, I did learn that a Sycamore tree is always a sign of water in nature, because that’s where they grow.
#sycamoretrees #nature
No complaints here! And I’m trying to pass all this on to the next generation too. My cousin’s extreme, and very deep heartfelt thoughtfulness this past Christmas reminded me of this frame of mind.
When you see an Old Soul reaching out, grab that hand, because it takes a lot for that person to reach; and the fragility of the personality might not reach out again anytime soon if they feel hurt or rejected by their attempt to do good.
Live, Laugh, Love with everything you’ve got, while you still can! 💜✨ Thank you so much for stopping by. I truly value and appreciate you all here.
It was 1970 something and the Pennsylvania summers were awesome! No air conditioner needed. I’m not sure if my younger self just had a better heat tolerance, or if it’s true what the older generation always said about our summers being more tolerable years back?
Ok, setting is a Pilgrim Holiness Church Revival! If you’ve never been, well then, wow! I’ll do the best I can to create a glimpse into this “step back in time” feeling, best described as close to early 1900s feeling as we can get currently.
I’m no church denomination expert, and will never claim to be. This is just from my childhood memories, how I felt and saw it.
Mid Summer, July something,…..women of all ages in long modest dresses covering their knees and almost to their ankles. Men in button up dress shirts, typically rolled up to their elbows because of the heat. Every woman over age 20 something has her hair wrapped up in a bun, sometimes a long braided bun. Hair pins everywhere to hold these massive hair buns in place. No woman is allowed to cut her hair, so long hair everywhere.
#church #revivals #hymns
It’s an old, 1800s something white painted wood church with so much history in it I don’t even know where to begin. As a kid, my favorite part is playing with the old rusty water pump out front. During a break from this 3+ hour revival I get to run outside and play, as long as there are any other kids there. Typically we’re small in number.
Nothing, absolutely nothing tops my memory of those nighttime breaks, running full speed out to the woods chasing the fireflies, laughing, adding in a little game of tag while chasing them! It was as pure and innocent as it sounds.
#Summertime #Childhood
The crowd is mostly pretty serious old hymn singing middle agers and up. Almost 80% of the night is family style singing; now I really loved this part! It’s not just one person up front, it’s usually a family singing together, or a husband and wife team. It’s loud, acoustic, and full of passion.
Old paper fans on a flat stick are waving everywhere to help cool down. Ladies with sweat beading down the sides of their faces, fans a wavin’.
The Preacher is the only man still in his full suit coat. He’s up there sweating away; Fire and brimstone style preachin’ about the world we live in, how we’re to be disciples to everyone, how we’re to keep living our modest, God fearing way without giving in to the temptations of the worldly ways!
And then the singing starts up again! Oh, that was the best part. My dad has such a good strong tenor voice. Mom’s is a quieter soprano but her harmonies sound really good with him. Dad’s the song leader at our church and they are both typically one of the featured singing groups at these revivals.
As a 6-7 year old, pretty quiet only kid, I’m pretty pumped at these camps. It’s what I know. What a world! Mom’s best friends were typically Mennonites, and we know quite a few Amish families too.
Oh, I could go on and on about the homemade pies sitting on the window ledges, the feeling of running barefoot everywhere, as long as it wasn’t winter, the smell of the gardens (because everyone had one). Gardens bursting at the seams with tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, 🍅🥒 and those horrible radishes, that was about the only thing I really didn’t like.
At the time, I had no clue I was living like an early 1900s, “Little House on the Prairie” community. I knew I didn’t look like anyone else at my public school,….and went through years of questions,...”why do you look like that, why don’t you cut your hair, why are you always in dresses?” 🤦♀️
It’s all good. My parents left the Holiness church when I was about 10. First pair of pants and first haircut ever! I wouldn’t change any of it for anything. What a cool foundation it gave me! My perspective now has so many non typical dimensions to it.
Middle of the road Methodist now, and will always absolutely cherish my childhood Holiness church revival memories! Big families, Old Hymns, Fans with Jesus pictures on them, and Fireflies,……so many fireflies those nights. Life before any abuse is always so much brighter. ✨✨
#fireflies #childhood #peace #joy
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Live, Laugh, Love with everything you have, while you still can! Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate and value you all so much. 💜✨