I love it that one of my favorite lunchtime spots has a stack of question cards on each table. they feed my mind and soul with topics to savour during after-lunch daydreaming. this one came up last week and I've thought about it daily since then. our childhoods can be memory minefields. even though this question focuses on remembering something positive, we can't help but think of what we miss in context of the entire experience and some may feel the need to tread lightly. I know that I am blessed to have several immediate good memories come to mind when prompted, but I too venture off into unresolved hurts and magical thinking about how I wish it could have been. but in the spirit of focusing on the good, here's my answer:
- living in a little girl bikini and bare feet for days on end, in my mind nothing beats a california summer.
- exploring tidepools with my dad and poking my finger into purple sea urchins as they curl their sticky paw around it like a newborn clutching a parent's finger.
- resting my head on the sturdiness and loyalty and certainty of the rascally mixed-terrier sam.
- holding "who can make their belly stick out more" contests with my friends...before the time when we felt pressured to pull in, be small.
- lying in my bed during a nap, the scent of the gardenia bush right outside the open window and the soft chirp of lazy birds on a hot central valley afternoon. this is my "happy place" to this day.
what about you?
{speaking of beautiful girlhoods, look at this.}
