This picture brings a smile.. All of these things I loved to do everyday of my childhood life..!
The exhiliration of riding a bicycle every single time...
the pride I took in learning how to ride by myself finally after numerous falls I was determined to get through. My older cousin did try to teach me, but when I looked back to discover he had given me a running push and let go ; I panicked at the thought of riding on my own and crashed. Theres a beautiful lesson involved in learning how to ride a bicycle.. in the end - you have to get there by building enough confidence to do it yourself,determination and never giving up until you learn how to ride!! Oh and when I finally did.. the reward was sweet,pure joy every single time.
I was lucky enough to have a pair of swings installed by my Dad in a large backyard, and various little one act-plays with a cousin including the climax scene of a dramatic fall off the swing were enacted.
A slat of natural wood is the most beautiful swing seat in my opinion.
And the birds and cats agreed.
The birds and I shared these swings, as did every visiting child.
My first cat is fondly etched in memory in a single moving motion: Sitting up very straight on a swing that he had managed to set fast in motion by taking a running jump, enjoying every minute and a regular comical sight outside my window going back and forth, back and forth..
No hillside wild flowers ever grew in my grass, but if anything, it gave me an appreciation of weeds, a stronger imagination, and sporadic efforts at pressing in flowers randomly to see what it would look like if there were flowers.. and tiny golden mushrooms that sprouted during monsoon were a welcome delight!
I loved overgrown grass and had many an argument trying to keep the lawn from getting mowed. Clipped grass: short and spiky … but the longer: -the greener, the softer .. lusher.. I know the difference well..
Way back in school my mother came across the idea that walking on dew laden grass is good for the health… the eyes especially.
And so in the pink rays of a rising sun, a very sleepy schoolgirl would have to walk barefoot on cold wet grass.. the dew drops visibly glistening on blades that had somehow unruffled themselves through the night- .. I’d begin by complaining , soles sensitive to the cold and sometimes spiky blades (if the lawnmower had roared over them) - and always end with my eyes wide open – fully aware of a morning unfolded and very much in tune with nature, enjoying the squishy green between my toes!
A quote I liked when I was growing up and, I feared, away from my simple little pleasures and rights to just be – just play, just be silly, just laugh, just get up and be spontaneous was the perfect counter for friends who were suddenly too old or too lazy as we went along our teens :
We do not stop playing because we grow old;
We grow old because we stop playing.
No hillside wild flowers ever grew in my grass, but if anything, it gave me an appreciation of weeds, a stronger imagination, and sporadic efforts at pressing in flowers randomly to see what it would look like if there were flowers.. and tiny golden mushrooms that sprouted during monsoon were a welcome delight!
I loved overgrown grass and had many an argument trying to keep the lawn from getting mowed. Clipped grass: short and spiky … but the longer: -the greener, the softer .. lusher.. I know the difference well..
Way back in school my mother came across the idea that walking on dew laden grass is good for the health… the eyes especially.
And so in the pink rays of a rising sun, a very sleepy schoolgirl would have to walk barefoot on cold wet grass.. the dew drops visibly glistening on blades that had somehow unruffled themselves through the night- .. I’d begin by complaining , soles sensitive to the cold and sometimes spiky blades (if the lawnmower had roared over them) - and always end with my eyes wide open – fully aware of a morning unfolded and very much in tune with nature, enjoying the squishy green between my toes!
A quote I liked when I was growing up and, I feared, away from my simple little pleasures and rights to just be – just play, just be silly, just laugh, just get up and be spontaneous was the perfect counter for friends who were suddenly too old or too lazy as we went along our teens :
We do not stop playing because we grow old;
We grow old because we stop playing.
Posts
