Memory Lane...travel down it!

Today Aunt Wanda and my family took a trip down memory lane. Thank you, Aunt Wanda, for traveling with us! We drove down Cantaloupe Rd. and saw sights from the past. We saw Grandma's old house. From the looks of it, it hasn't been lived in for sometime. Do you know that the driveway wasn't as long as I remembered it being, as a kid? Then we went to the races! Okay, we just went to the track before a race. It has changed some, but not a lot. It too seemed smaller. I hated growing up there, at least I thought I did but while I was there and especially at Grandma's, I felt like I was home.

Memories came back of things like Easter at Grandma's. Hunting eggs that the bunny had left there. Walking around Grandma's in my new Easter dress, this one was simple, purple with white flowers. I remember loving that dress. Walking to the ponds, fishing at the ponds both alone with my daddy and our entire family. My uncle Robert, the last time he told me goodbye, the sound of his boots walking on the kitchen floor. My Grandma calling for him to wake up to go to work. Kelly, his dog. Looking out of my Grandma's bedroom window into the field listening to the radio, All My Exes Live In Texas, it played a lot. The smell of moth balls, raking leaves. Being scared of the trees outside in the dark. Family. Thanksgiving, all of the family, Grandma's corn bread. Love and warmth. Then the racetrack...cleaning it! The sounds the cars made while they were on the track. The fans/crowds, the smell of the food in the concession stand. Eating pickles, whole pickles and the way a slop-dog looked (it was a hot dog with all the fixings already on it, it looked gross but tasted okay). The Sheriff that guarded the gate on race nights that had known me since I was 5 that I called, lovingly, Daddy Pat. The good times I had with friends there. My dog, Rusty, he was a good dog! Hanging clothes on the clothes line, I hated hanging clothes on the line and the way some of the clothes were so stiff when they dried. My first almost knock your knees from under you kiss as a teenager. The long walks listening to my walkman around the racetrack with my dog. Running up and down bleachers. Being skinny. Remembering I could not wait to grow up.

All those memories and a lot more. Some were great, some were funny, some were sad. I am so glad that I was able to go out today and visit some of my childhood, my past. I recommend it to everyone! I am glad I was able to share it with my husband and children.