During the holidays it is not always easy to find time to get outside. Not always easy to take a break from family. Today I made it happen.
When we got back from Sam's first movie (we saw Tangled which was great, loved the music, but was a bit too much adventure and excitement for Sam!) I made Sam and Avery go for a walk with me to my old stomping grounds.
I grew up here,
across from this.
My "green" space. It is actually a private all girl catholic high school but it has many acres of old oak trees, a pond and (when I was growing up) a back lot that was completely abandoned and overgrown.
It is surrounded by houses but this little patch of green lead to more exploration, adventures and excitement in my youth than you could imagine. We caught frogs and tadpoles, chased geese and ducks, built forts, dug holes, climbed trees, followed squirrels and rock hunted. Almost everyday my best friends and I found ourselves somewhere on the grounds of this school.
So today I took the girls there.
I spent HOURS of my youth on this property and it was amazing to see Sam enjoy the same place. I also loved that I saw evidence that other young kids were enjoying this area. Like a small fairy house that we found. Sam was so exicted!
The back lot where we built an extremely elaborate fort with different rooms and water colletion systems has been bulldozed down and removed. The wild area no longer exists. My parents tell me that the school decided long ago that it was a hazard and unsafe for the neighborhood. We loved that spot.
I can't wait till my girls are old enough to really understand and appreciate my stories from our times on the school yard but for now I am happy to spend a small portion of our holiday weekend on a walk around the pond with my girls.
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The Nitty Gritty!
Do you have an area from your youth that you have shared with your kids? Do you have "wild" memories and activities that you have not yet done with your own kids? The activities that we grew up with (building forts, climbing trees and exploring) will NOT be passed on if we don't encourage it and fight for those spaces to still be around! Protect the wild spaces in your neighborhood as passionately as you protect your own kids!
This is always interesting to do. It really connected me to the landscape in which I grew up and the first time it happened was particularly special. The last time I visited my mum and her sister were there with me, Joe and my nephew - a real generation visit. Places are powerful!
Posted by: Juliet Robertson | 11/28/2010 at 07:05 AM
WOW I LOVE where you grew up!!! AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: welcome to our wonderland | 11/28/2010 at 05:16 PM
I loved the photos - and the evidence that other children are still playing there.Connecting your children with your own childhood must have been a wonderfully saitsfying experience - which they will remember as very special I am sure.
Louise
Posted by: Louise at Tales from the Sandpit | 11/28/2010 at 09:53 PM
Your Places are attractive...I hope ur kid had a kid a nice time in this beautifull place...He walks so sweetly with his doll...https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&send_id=817789614&email=7cff47bb7cdcb76fbfa15e66c81a1961 feels good that ur house is surrounded by water...
Posted by: Autism Spectrum | 11/28/2010 at 09:54 PM
It's great to visit old haunts! That sounds like a lovely trip! xo Ang
Posted by: Angela | 11/29/2010 at 03:17 PM