Ah, the Simple days!

I was reading a friends blog today (thanks Andrea!  Click here to see her entry) about how her kids had a wonderful time just playing in the water in the gutter in front of their house Something so simple, and it got me thinking.  What were some of the simple magical days that I remember from my childhood.  A couple things popped into my mind, and the funny thing is that none of them cost any money (something I need to constantly remind myself of!) 

One of my most magical days, was a snowy day in Colorado.  I was probably between eight and nine.  Old enough that it was alright for me to play out in the snow by myself, but not too old to miss the magic of the moment.  My parent's home had a row of tall bushes in a row in front of the house with a little bit of room between the bush and the house.  A perfect little walkway for someone of my size.  When it would snow a lot it would create some pretty neat drifts that would ride up the bush to the roof of the house, leaving a magical snow cave.  I remember one day going out there after a really big snow storm and discovering this little phenomenon.  By the time I found it all of the other kids, my sisters and other random neighborhood kids had already gone inside to escape the chill.  So this wonderful little treasure was all mine.  I remember climbing back there and finding a joy that I seem to be chasing to this day.  The snow bank blocked the wind and because it was right up to the brick of the house the little cave was rather pleasant.  I remember staying back there for quite some time, creating a little world for myself.  The funny thing is that it was a solitary experience that didn't require any toys, no friends, I was all by myself with my imagination.  I don't remember what I pretended to do or create, but I do remember the feelings that I had.  The feeling of total happiness.  

My husband once told me that he felt like those experiences that we have like that when we are children are what help us learn how to find our way back to our Heavenly Father.  They help us to remember what we came from and who we really are.  Thinking back on that time in my snow world, I think he is right. 

Most of my simple joys as a child came from discovering the wonderful world that the Lord created for us.  I remember walking home from school one day, again by myself.  It was raining lightly and I had a brand new umbrella.  I remember walking slowly watching all the earthworms coming out of their grassy homes and covering the sidewalk, carefully walking as to not accidentally squish one.  I had also discovered that it was so mush more fun to flip the umbrella over to see how much of the rain that I could catch in it.  I'm sure that my Mother really appreciated that, but I sure thought it was neat.  Another rainy memory was up at Rick's College, and again was a solitary experience.  It was conference weekend and all of my roommates had gone out of town for the weekend and for some reason I decided to stay behind.  I think after living with five other girls in a very small living space I was looking forward to some time alone.  I remember opening my dorm room window and turning on the radio to listen to conference.  It had been lightly raining all day and the smell from the new spring world was something I will never forget.  Laying there on my bed with the light breeze, the amazing smells and the wonderful spirit from  the conference talks were intoxicating.

 

After listening to Elder Ballard's talk, Daughter's of God, (click on the title of the talk if you would like to read it.)  It reminded my that I need to take the time to remember the precious moments. Now that I'm older they are a little different.  One Saturday our family was working together on getting the house into shape, and everyone was working with a smile on their face.  That was a special "moment."  I know that they are few and far between and I am grateful that I was able to stop and recognize that it was a special moment.  Another time was when we were on vacation as a family at Redondo Beach, California.  The day was perfect, we found a great parking spot, the beach wasn't crowded, and the weather was perfect.  For lunch we found this little closet of a restaurant that served authentic Mexican food, and I mean authentic. They even served all of their sodas in the old fashioned glass bottles.  I think strait from Mexico, because I haven't seen that kind here forever.  My favorite souvenir from any trip so far, was the Squirt bottle that I drank from that day.  Weird I know,  I have it sitting on my kitchen counter and every time I see it, I remember that day.

I have had many more like these that would count as my top memories, and for journaling sake I am going to try and record some of them from time to time.  Thanks Andrea for the little push, It was a fun walk down memory lane.