Monday, June 9, 2008

FUN MONDAY

I missed last week so I hope to get up to speed this Monday. Our assignment this week is to tell about a happy childhood memory.
I grew up on a farm and had dogs, horses and hills and fields to play in. Our house always welcomed our friends and my mother was always cooking for more than our family. My grandparents were close and I had lots of aunts and uncles and cousins. Many of the things we did as kids in the early 50's would be so dangerous in this day and age, but at that time were just things everyone did. I had good friends and for the most part good experiences.
We had a huge cottonwood tree that we called "The Big Tree" and we built a haphazard tree house in it and would sit by the hour and talk and make plans. We would have neighborhood summer slumber parties and all sleep on our front lawn or our neighbors lawn (boys and girls) and the worst thing that took place was the boys would sneak off and try to scare the girls with scarry sounds. We had a canal that we would ride tubes down. Forget the fact that I didn't learn to swim until I was pregnant with my second child. I had a couple of girl friends that also had horses and we rode by the hour on the hills behind my house. We came home when we were hungry. We had a huge grain field in front of my house and we would pull up clumps of tall grain and stomp down huge "houses" that we would play in. There is a subdivision with huge houses and a large church house on the property now. The "Big Tree" has been gone for a while and the canal was piped about 10 years ago. Growing up in the 50's was really as idyllic for me as most T.V. shows say it was.

To Join FUN MONDAY go to :molly's blog

23 comments:

Hootin Anni said...

I too had a tree house in a huge tree....but it was at my grandmother's house! I'm so loving this week's theme. And you shared some great memories.


My Fun Monday is shared too, I hope you can stop by and read it, if you haven't already --since I'm just now going through the Mr. Linky's at Mollys before I get to my own comments to read who has visited!! Take care, have a great day. [PS --you have to scroll below my 'walk in the park' photos to reach my F M entry!!]

Jan said...

I agree, growing up in the '50's was wonderful. A far more innocent time. I think it was more innocent because we didn't have all the media and instant communications we have now. I think the same things happened, we just didn't know about them, unless they happened to some one we knew.

Lori said...

Wow, you had a wonderful childhood. Those memories sound so lovely. I grew up on a farm too, so I can relate to a lot of the things you did. (P.S. I loved the story about the shoes you wrote on my blog. That was hilarious!)

Cheryl said...

The 50's was a great time to be a child. Like you I did things parents would not allow their children to do now. I think we were very lucky to be of that generation. A lovely post.

Molly said...

Thank you for joining us for this Fun Monday. Your happy memories of a happy time sound grand indeed. I grew up in the 50's too, and we certainly had some idyllic moments.

ChrisB said...

I read your post earlier and was convinced that I had left a comment~ was I dreaming!

karisma said...

Sounds like an ideal childhood, your mum sounds like me, cooking for dozens of people all the time!

Molly said...

No problem, Judy...I glad that we found you at last.

Jo Beaufoix said...

I always wanted a treehouse but we made do with dens behind bushes as we had no big trees. Sounds like you had some really idyllic times like you say. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

I wish I had grown up in a farm, that must have been exciting, thanks for sharing

ellen b. said...

Ha! The scenery is different but the experiences sound so similar to mine. I went across a river on a makeshift raft before I knew how to swim. It was a different world in the 50's for sure. Have a great week...

Unknown said...

My dad describes his childhood much like you just did. He also has said that it was idyllic like you see in the movies.

Luckily, my grandparents lived (and still do, actually!) on the same farm when I was growing up. So, we got to experience a few things my dad did when he was little.

When I was young, I used to wish I'd been a child in the 50's, because of the way my dad described it:).

PAT said...

I loved this! Wonderful post!

I heard someone, on the radio, talking about kids these days having everything organized and planned out in their play and it is his belief, they should be allowed to experience some of those things you talked about.

The 50's was a great time to be a child!
Pat

the planet of janet said...

sounds like a wonderful childhood.

love the "big tree."

daddy d said...

A big tree and plans make a great combination. I may try that plan thing under on of our back yard trees.

IamwhoIam said...

Sound like a grand life indeed.

Alison said...

those are wonderful memories...I wish life was that simple today for my children!!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Wonderful memories! I had a great childhood riding my bicycle most of the day and spending time along the shore here in Brooklyn (part of Long Island)fishing with my Dad. My grandmother had a samll farm and it was heaven when we visit her for a week evey summer.
Hugs, Pat

Peter said...

We had the best of it all growing up in the 40s, 50s, and even 60s, its been downhill since then.

Faye said...

Nothing better than summer in the country with plenty of playmates, cousins and very active imaginations so you could take advantage of all that was available to build your imaginary world.

Aoj and The Lurchers said...

That sounds like an absolutely idyllic childhood!

Hula Girl at Heart said...

How ironic. My sister and law was just talking this past weekend about "the big tree" the neighborhood kids used to play under..a big tree and field that have since been turned into a subdivision. Great post! Great memories!

Rue said...

Hi Judy :)

It wasn't much different when I was growing up, except we lived in the burbs. The things we did then would be looked at as dangerous now and I feel sorry for kids growing up today. Loved your story :)

rue