Childhood Memories

This week I was reading Hanna Rosin's The Atlantic article "The Over-Protected Kid." As I contemplated the article I remembered my childhood where I was not over protected. My mother set rules and boundaries, which I often ignored, but then she pretty much left me on my own from the time I was about six years old, or likely even before.

League City, Texas

I remember when I was in first and second grade and we lived in League City, Texas, right across the highway from Galveston County Park, I recall two rules - don't cross the highway and don't go past the railroad tracks. I was pretty good at not crossing the highway and the railroad tracks were a good natural boundary. But, I roamed far and wide with my buddy Byron Marshall with plenty of freedom. (Our street was named for Byron and his sisters Crystal and Velvet had their streets too.) I do remember once when I must have been hanging too close to the house and going in and out, my mother told me to stop banging the screen door. She finally locked it, keeping me out. Byron and I used to climb a row of pecan trees about a block away from the house, hunt for horned toads, walk through the fields watching the swallowtails fly, lose my shoes in what I referred to as quicksand. We had plenty of unsupervised adventures. Looking at the map of our neighborhood today, I see that the boundaries set were not too wide but for a six or seven year old they seemed large.

We moved to New York I strolled the streets around our apartment in New York City and then later in Yorktown Heights I remember roaming through the woods surrounding our house. There were streams and an abandoned quarry and small graveyards dating to the 1700s, and many other things to explore. My limit in one direction was the Taconic Parkway, not because my mother set a limit, but because i did not want to venture past it. I was an explorer but I had my limits. In the winter I would seek out the best places to sled. In the summer I played with trucks and plastic army men in the dirt, road my bicycle all over the place, and explored the woods, fished in the Quarry, and traded comic books, Friends I remember - Peter Smallman, Mike Hendel, Peter Torpey, and my next door neighbor Bruce Jenner (yes, the gold medal decathlon and Kardashian Bruce Jenner.)

Spring is FINALLY Here!

I had my doubts but spring has finally arrived in Glen Elllyn. No patches of snow on the ground, the crocus (is the plural of crocus croci?) are finally blooming, fish are begging for food, and the grass is greening. Sharon has been home this week and we have been doing spring cleanup in the back yard, filling bags with leaves and the remains of last year's growth, getiing the garden ready for seeds, and pots ready for flowers. The PVC I used for the pond piping last year did not all survive the winter. I don't know if the issue was water freezing in the pipes or exposure to sun. This is PVC designed for interior use, so it is not meant to be used outside. Research is in order, but for now, replacement PVC.

The past couple of days it has been very comfortable outside in the afternoon but still a bit too cool in the morning. I have made the transition to sandals but jeans and sweat shirts are still in order. I'm looking forward to having my morning coffee outside in the sun in shorts! (Next month I'll be having cafe con leche at Cafe Bar Roy in Sitges and I will be wearing shorts!)

This week I have been putting together a ukulele song book to take with me on the road. I've included many of my favortie ukulele songs plus some I want to learn. I still find I need to look at words and chords when I play. I wonder if I will ever actually memorize songs? Oh, just remembered I need to add some kids songs for when I am entertaining Brady. The Wheels on the Bus and If You're Happy and You Know it Clap Your Hands. And while on the topic of ukuleles, I added a decal to my outdoor ukulele.

John sent this great photo of Avery with a beautiful rainbow trout taken on the Crooked River during spring break. I wish I was there with them this year. My favorite guys to fish with on my favortite river to fish.

Kristie sent this one. John is now a soccer coach. Love the pose with John and Anika!

Gotta include a cat picture. This is Shelby posing and looking pretty.

We have finalized plans for getting to and from Sitges this year. Katie Soler and I will be heading there on 5 May and Sharon will follow us on 12 May. We are flying Air France this year, through Paris. We have always flown American and/or Iberia but price and availability was an issue this year. We are trying Air France Premium Economy which cost a little more but does give us larger seats as well as enhanced food and beverage service. We are all coming back on May 30. As we have for the past few years we will be staying in the Soler piso in Sitges and are planning little more than relaxing on the beach, in cafes, and on the roof. There will be side trips to Barcelona of course since it is only 40 minutes away by train. We may do a train to Girona, maybe to Valencia, maybe Madrid. We shall see what pulls us. Matt Olson has been enlisted once more to house sit and cat sit while we are gone. It is good to know someone will be looking after everything here.

Enough writing! Outside to finish pond repairs.