It is a truth universally acknowledged that a rainy day becomes much cheerier when one is in possession of a turquoise umbrella.

4/20/11

Memory Lane

 This post is for those of you who ever experienced a certain, wonderful little thing called childhood.

This is for those who didn't know what 'innocent' meant. You just were.

This is for those who ever dressed themselves in a mismatched assortment of clothing (aka Froggy Facts t-shirt, green swim trunks, and rubber cowboy boots) and believed it to be a job well done.


This is for those who smiled unabashedly for the camera without asking to see the photo afterwards and perhaps moan about some flaw in their features. You simply didn't worry or care about such things.


This is for those who ever wore their nicest polka dot flip flops on a walk to the pond and regretted it for the dirt.

Whoops. How did that get in there?

This is for those whose biggest worry in life was something as small as outrunning Brother in a race down rows of corn.


This is for those whose imaginative spark transported them to another place altogether. When something as simple as an irrigation gun became an Army tank in a foreign battlefield defending the United States.


This is for those who could suddenly drive, fly, shoot guns, or have insanely amazing super powers...perhaps all in the same twenty minutes.

"Raise the guns..."

"TIGHTEN THE...uh, whatever it is that you...tighten...on a tank."
"Look up, men!"

This is for those who became so swept up in their game that everyday happenings (such as a jet flying past) only added to the excitement.
"Fire!"

"Did we get 'im?"
 
This is for those who stood a foot taller during these sessions of pretend, because in those moments, you weren't playing Superman or a war hero. You became them.

(This shot reminds me of the soldiers raising the flag at Iwo Jima for some reason).

This is for those who could pause the game and make silly faces for the camera, not caring who was watching.

This is for those who completed a game of pretend with a heady sense of accomplishment at a job well done.


This is for those who ever wonder why they were in such a hurry to grow up and leave all of that behind. And this is for those who sometimes--just sometimes--wish they could go back for a brief while and relive every wonderful, magical, imaginative second.

This is for you.

17 thoughts:

Beth said...

Wonderful pictures! So your post of tractor tires got me to walking down memory lane. I remember when I was little playing under the barn and laying inside the tractor wheel while it was attached to the tractor. I remember thinking it would be fun to stay in there and ride while Papa plowed. It didn't seem dangerous when I was 4 :)

Julia said...

Beautiful post. This is so, so true... :)

Bethany d said...

Awwww. :) They're are so amazing! And look - greeness!!

I do think I'll have to send all my brothers to your house - I know a few who would love to enlist. :)

Kara said...

Awww, so sweet. Beautiful post, Erin!

LOVED the pictures. Especially, the one of your brother "saluting" with the flag...and the dark one, with them at the "gun"!

Susie said...

Beautifully done..
Brought back my memories on that same land. Papa and Granny Mac. All those trips to the pond, bending over to get under the electric fence and gettin the shock on your backside. Sunday dinner when we were down and everyone was there, and the chicken and dumplings. Playing in the driveway with all those little rocks. Getting Papa to take us to Joe Dowdy's. Sleeping on the couch in the living room. Sitting on the porch in the rocking chairs, climbing the pecan trees. Stringing tobacca. Making a horse out of tobacca sticks. I could go on forever. The good old days...thanks for the memories

Anna said...

Beautiful post, Erin! I loved it.

Lucia said...

Hi there! Lovely blog you have here...and just thought I'd mention that we have *almost* the same exact titles for our blogs. ;) LOVE the photos..amazing!!

~Lucia
www.one-beloved.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Oh my ... this post touched my heart!

Joni said...

I love the "did we get them" photo. Pure imagination. :)

Betty said...

Great post Erin! But then I'm sorta prejudiced....for the boys and the story teller!

Love you,
Mam

Anonymous said...

I loved the pictures! They were amazing. Especially the last one - his eyes are stunning. :) Great post!

Carlita S. said...

Ohhhh my word!! Such a cute post. You always have such gorgeous photography.

Alexxus K, H. said...

Loved this pictures - totally adorable. :) Your little brothers are so daggum cute! :) Now, if we had land like that, I would definitley be out playing with my little brothers, no matter how old I was! You can exactly get into character with creepy neighbors staring at you like you've gone nuts.

Would they rather me be making-out with a boyfriend and texting on my phone? (Not at the same time, mind you. Although I'm sure some girls could do it....).

Well, that is normal teenage behavior. *cough*

Bravo, Erin! :)

Alexxus K. H. said...

So sorry - I meant "these" not "this". Now that whole sentence is messed up *sniff*. I pride so much on nice, neat, sentences.

*Groan*

Sarah-Anne said...

adorable!!

Kristin said...

Hi, I'm a new follower (found you through Bailey's blog) and just wanted to let you know how much I love this post! Beautiful photography. And sometimes I definitely wonder why I was in such a rush to "grow up." :)

~Kristin

MaKenna Morgan said...

sooo. darn. cute! When I saw the one pic., I was like modern day, little boy Iwo Jima! then I scrolled down and that's what you said...

MaKenna Morgan