These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...How About You?

One of my favorite songs is from the movie The Sound of Music:

Raindrops of Roses and whiskers on kittens;

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens;

Brown paper packages tied up with strings;

These are a few of my favorite things…

The song reminds me of my childhood because Lauren and I watched the movie together over and over…and over again. Santa Clause brought me a music box that played the tune when I was in kindergarten. Like I used to tell my three-year-old preschool class, all children grow up someday. And true to the saying, I grew up…but I haven’t forgotten my childhood memories. And just like the song, they are a few of my favorite things:

My list is long…so before you read (or if you read)…I’d like to know some of your favorite childhood memories!

(I’ll limit the list this time to preschool and kindergarten because I could go on forever! )

·         My daddy playing the Georgia, There is a Fountain, Godspeed, and What a Wonderful World on the piano.

·         Lauren and I dancing with daddy in the living room when we lived in Hoover.

·         My Mama teaching me how to swim in our pool.

·         Flintstone Vitamins

·         Playing dress-up with Mama’s make-up.

·         Performing “Three Little Bears” with Lauren…our preschool movie production.

·         Singing with the youth group on choir tour…even though I was in preschool…I had a t-shirt and everything. My parents called me a little-bit big girl.

·         When I was three years old, I would draw Grandmother Funderburk a picture. She passed away that year. I would take the picture outside and ball up the paper. I thought maybe if I threw it in the air, then God would blow it up to heaven. To my disappointment, of course, the paper ball never went all the way up. My parents told me that they were sure Grandmother Funderburk could see the picture and was happy in Heaven.

·         My parents buying a swing set! They assembled it in the carport and placed it in the backyard.

·         Santa Clause bringing my first bike: purple with hot pink wheels.

·         Daddy buying me hot pink Converse high-tops…VERY COOL.

·         My mom building a snow bunny the year it snowed in April; I was four.

·         Trying to play Barbies with Lauren before she was old enough…she was probably one and a half…she kept holding the Barbie like a baby doll and saying “Oh da babeee.”

·         Watching Pete’s Dragon with Mama. I remember every song: “It’s not easy to find someone who cares”…”it’s a brazzle dazzle day”…”there’s room for everyone”…”I’ll be your candle by the water”…

·         Sitting at my drawing table in the den (living room). Daddy brought home computer paper for me to use.

·         My pet fish: Holly and Ivy the goldfish and Slurpy the algae sucker. (Slurpy died during an ice storm. Our friends the Baileys were staying with us. We had a funeral in the backyard.)

·         Moving to Tallassee in 1988. I remember Mama and Daddy knowing that God sent us there.

·         Writing a story during the move called “The Mouse without a Home” because we were homeless for two weeks during the transition and stayed with the Millers and Boppie and Grandaddy (lol).

·         Living on the McCartha farm for our first four and a half years in Tallassee. I loved to spend the night with Mamaw and Papaw. Papaw got up before daylight, ate a bowl of cereal and headed outside to work. I got up with him and ate cereal. Then Mamaw would cook a big breakfast everyday around 7:30…sausage, biscuits, eggs, and my favorite…French toast. I can smell her kitchen now! She would give Lauren and me our own biscuit dough for us to play with and bake.

·         (Okay...so one memory of when I we were a little older...Lauren, Jay, Grant, Will, and I would explore the two barns and create all kinds of wonderful things. Our best creation was a tree house in one of the pecan trees.

·         Another favorite thing to do at Mamaw and Papaw’s was to play in the cotton trailers. Jumping in the trailer was like floating on clouds. We could also mold the cotton into play houses…so much fun!

·         Mamaw also let us have access to as much fabric as we wanted and Lauren and I sewed all kinds of creations…dolls, animals, pillows.

·         Riding in the car with my mom to Montgomery every weekday so that I could go to private school with Boppie my kindergarten year. We had many great conversations during those 30 minute drives…during one of the drives I accepted Christ as my Savior.

·         We spent lots of time with Boppie and Grandaddy in 1988-89. My memories are vivid! I loved being with them. Sometimes on Friday night Boppie would make our favorite supper: Fried chicken fingers, macaroni and cheese casserole, butterbeans, and buttery biscuits. We would watch an old Disney movie.

·         On weekdays I usually had Little Debbie coffee cakes for breakfast at Boppie and Granddaddy's. On weekends, Boppie would fix pancakes made into our initials.  We would watch Pop-Eye with Granddaddy.

·         Mama would drop us off at Boppie and Grandaddy’s then I would ride with Boppie to school and Lauren went to preschool and stayed with Ginger. Boppie always listened to Faith Radio 89.1 WLBF out of Montgomery. Focus on the Family was on during our drive to school. (I still listen to this radio station online…maybe because its engrained into me. I guess it's because of Boppie that I love Kay Arthur, Joni and Friends, and Nancy Lee Demoss.)

·         Every morning on our drive to school we passed by a house with the most beautiful yard. Every square inch of the yard was manicured. Sometimes we’d see a lady working in the yard on our way home. Boppie and I decided that we would write her a letter telling her how much we enjoyed driving by her house and thanking her for the hard work that she put into her home to make it beautiful for the community. (I drew the picture :)

·         My favorite Bible story in Kindergarten…the Exodus and Passover. Boppie was a great story teller. When I became an adult, I appreciated the story so much more as it points to Jesus the Messiah. But would I have cherished the meaning as much if the seed hadn’t been planted when I was 5?...I’m so grateful to her!

·         Lauren and I making a joke collection. When something funny happened…we’d add it to our joke collection. Then whenever we were bored, we’d make each other laugh by telling one of the stories. (Okay, so only Lauren will understand this one :)

These are just some of the memories that come mind at the moment. I have many many more (of my Aunt Elizabeth (Aba) keeping me when I was little…and of my Aunt Ruth and her really cool presents (she was the college aunt)  :) …okay…I have to stop. Thank you God for memories!