Race ya!

So in the spirit of B Bop, Veg and Trifolk and their respective recent posts of childhood adventures I decided I would jump on the wagon.

Since I was very young, I always had a sense of adventure that needed little coaxing. The street I grew up on only had boys my age. There were two girls, sisters actually, that lived a few houses down on another street that I would play with but my times with Leslie and Allison were very girlie. We stayed inside alot and did art projects or played Barbies or dress up.

I was also an only child for much of my childhood. My mother and father both worked and I couldn't nap or I would be up all night. Needless to say, nap time at the babysitter's house for me was anything but. :) All of this independence allowed me to develop a great imagination. An imagination that helped me leave the confines of my bedroom or backyard and go all over the world to discover.

My frequent 'traveling' companion was my next door neighbor Clayton. Clayton had a much older brother so he would occasionally terrorize us but overall it was me and Clayton. We were the same age and inseparable. Every Sunday, he would be sitting on the front porch waiting for me to get home from church so we could start the next adventure.

We had woods behind our houses that led to a very deep gorge and even had a small makeshift treefort. Sometimes we would bring our other neighbor Grant along or some of the other boys down the road, but mostly it was the two us traveling to parts unknown. One time we caught a big snapping turtle and Clayton's brother Brad had to come and help us carry it to the house. He then proceeded to chase me around the yard with it; I can't remember how it ended, knowing me I finally stopped to see just what he planned to do to me with that turtle.

Even though I was out being a boy, I was all girl. I would run around with the gang in my sundresses with jelly bracelets and bangles up to both elbows. I can't tell you how many times I'd be walking around with torn dresses from climbing trees and fences. I took on every challenge and always had to prove myself to the boys. I got dirty and had a blast. Playing with the boys helped me define my limits. I learned how to stand up for myself, push myself and fight for the things I believed in. There was never even a question that I couldn't do something. Between this and my thirst for adventure I felt like I could take on anything.

I feel so fortunate to have parents that never told me I couldn't do something, that believed in all my craziness, even if they weren't always in support of it. Lots of people talk about 'latch-key kids' and how sad our lives are that we didn't have cookies and milk and Mrs. Clever waiting when school was over. I had several wonderful babysitters as I was growing up and the time I spent with my family was very fulfilling and meaningful. I don't know if I would be as outgoing, flexible and adaptable and open minded if I had not had the experience of going to Mrs. Rhoder's house after school. Meeting new people comes easily to me because I got to have new after school friends all the time!

Sadly Clayton moved to North Carolina when I was eight or nine. They would visit every summer for 3 years or so and then I never saw him again. I will however always remember all the fun we had. There are times when I'm in my parent's backyard that I look at the woods and I can here Clayton saying, "Race you to the tree! Last one there is a rotten egg!"