when I was younger- honeysuckle memories

When I was young(er) there were only four houses on the Dirt Road. When I was younger, there was no such thing as video games and movies on demand. What we had was a great big world to play in, and that was what was expected. That, was what we did.




As you came down our dirt road there was our house, my grandparent's home, woods and then the other two homes. The last one was where friends lived. Between my grandparent's home and the last home we had created trails. The main trail was wide, it was used often while riding our bikes. We would make a big circle from our grandparent's down the path hang a right and go back up the road to start all over again. Off to one side we had built a nice ranch-type club area. The other side held trails that lead off into the woods.



It was along these trails that we were adventurers, set out to create imaginary fun. We were guides, discovering new lands, new lifeforms and rediscovering old. We hiked mountains, through giant ferns and swamps. We fought monster mosquito and snake. We had an amazing amount of fun.





Summer is, was, and always will be my favorite time of year. I know its incredibly hot, but I can deal with the summer heat much better than I will ever be able to deal with cold. Shorts, bare feet and freedom. Vegetables straight from the garden, drinking from the garden hose, riding bikes with hands held high. Sweet freedom with a summer sun beating down. Spitting watermelon seeds and wading in the puddles left by summer showers.



We spent time making up new ways to play old games. And we rode those, one speed- brakes in the pedals- bikes, without helmets, without tons of protection, without shoes. We controlled the road and we controlled the trails. We attached streamers and cards. We rode, we fell and we got up again. We rode through puddles and over rocks and through the trails in the woods. One of the things I loved on those trails were the honeysuckle. You could smell them long before you got to them. When I found out that you could also pull the flower from the vine and drink the nectar I was overjoyed.



The honeysuckle quickly became integral in our adventures. I lost count on how many times it was those flowers that 'saved' us from one imaginary misadventure or other. We have honeysuckle vines growing along the far side of the fence. My husband doesn't understand why I refuse to allow him to cut them down. There is no way I can explain how what he considers a weed, was a summer time lifesaver so long ago. Once upon a time.... and the memories..continue