Category: Childhood

Spring is a time for new things. On the farm there were cute barnyard babies to be petted, new green grass to be run through barefoot, and the redolence of new apple blossoms to be savored. And always, there was a family of robins in the lilac bush in the front yard. For the parent… Continue reading One, Two, I Can Buckle My Shoe

My oldest sister, Winifred, dressed me in my finest that morning, a white organdy dress with a blue satin sash that tied in the back. At three, almost four, I knew that this was going to be a special day. I didn’t understand Winifred’s lack of enthusiasm as she chided me for squirming while she… Continue reading Of Dandelions and Railroads

Oh, the exhilaration of the walk home from school on a brisk autumn day! We shuffled through piles of leaves along the road and crunched acorns as we walked. Flocks of birds resting on their way southward often twittered from the sparsely clad limbs overhead. The clear blue sky and the portent of frost in… Continue reading If Winter Comes, Can Long Stockings Be Far Behind?

He was my first sweetheart. Grown-ups in our lives might have called it “puppy love.” Actually, it was more like a special friendship than love, and it lasted throughout our years at Major Elementary School. I liked Billy because he was not “bratty” like the other boys. He did not tease girls and did not… Continue reading Billy and Me