Do you ever find yourself reminiscing about your childhood only to realize how much you long to have those days back? I am sure most everyone does. When we are growing up, we spend a vast amount of time yearning for the day we become adults. We wish for the day of our eighteenth or twenty-first birthday. We wish for the day we go off to college or we wish for the day we move out of our parent's home. Some of us simply desire to be old enough to get married and have children of our own.
When we are young, we do not realize we are wishing away some the most important days of our lives. We wish away days that will contain some of our fondest memories. I did not long for the day I left home. However, I could not wait for the day I completed high school and went to college. Although I did enjoy my college years, I now find myself wishing I had put more into my high school life. My grades were not the problem. I had high enough marks that I graduated with highest honors. I just wish I had spent more time developing more meaningful relationships with my peers.
As an adult, I can not believe how fast time has flown. I look back at my childhood filled with happiness, and am saddened by how quickly the years have passed. Unconsciously, we as adults, do not look at ourselves as growing older until reality hits us in the face. I got a good dose of reality when I attended the high school graduation of a child I used to baby-sit when I was a teenager. I remember thinking there was no way that person could be old enough to graduate high school when I graduated not so long before they did! Then I do the math, and think it has been fourteen years since I graduated! Oh well, I guess I can not be young forever.
Although my youth has passed, my memories of my childhood continue to live on in my mind. I will forever cherish those memories. I will never forget or at least I hope my mental capacities continue to function in a way that I never forget the time I spent with my grandmother. What a lovely lady she was. I pray that I am forever blessed with the ability to remember what a fun and loving mother I have. I think back to Sundays when as a child all the other children at church came home with us. They wanted to come play my siblings and I, but mostly, they wanted to ride with my mom in her old Caprice Classic. The memories remain vivid in my mind. The car was huge and white with red interior. To keep the car from stalling, there were times when one had to "punch" the gas pedal. By doing so, when the driver took a corner the passengers would all have to lean to other side of the vehicle. The kids from church loved riding in this car with my mom. No Sunday was ever complete without our usual meal consisting of roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas, and macaroni and cheese. What a meal!
Our house was always full of children. I have a friend that I claim as my adopted sister because she spent so much time at my house and vice versa. I remember well the games we played. She, my sister, and I had a singing group we called the "Sunshine Girls". We enjoyed playing school, house, and church. I also remember the times I convinced my sister and our cousin to stand on their heads for several moments at a time. I also remember convincing them that cleaning our room was a game and I would look on as they worked as fast as possible to clean it. I remember the games we created such as "hide bang-bang" that we played with our brother and his friends. There were several boxing matches in which I took part. I remember all the clubs and clubhouses we created. There were trips of walking and playing in the mud. No childhood would be complete without the bumps and bruises sustained from learning how to ride your bike. I could go on and on.
It is needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed my childhood. I feel richly blessed to have been part of such a loving family and for having such wonderful friends. I simply wish time would slow or rather we as a people would slow down to enjoy the time we have. I think of the friendships I have let wither and die and am saddened. As time passes, we all allow distance come between our friendships. How sad that is! But no matter the time that elapses, I will always cherish my childhood and most certainly look back quite frequently to relive those memories.