Poignant Memories

Thanks to an injury, I spent several weeks at the beginning of the year lying on my sofa with my feet elevated above my heart. To alleviate the sheer boredom that came from lying around doing nothing, I decided to invite my mother over so we could finally tackle the task of sorting through the photos in the 70+ albums my grandparents left behind when they died.

I saw some old photos I don’t think I’ve seen before like the maternal grandmother of my maternal grandmother and a picture of my mother with her long-time bestfriend that was taken when they were both in junior high.

There were also, perhaps, a couple of hundred photos of me with my family at the pool at my grandparents old home. That house was sold when I was in college, and I had forgotten how many memories were associated with the pool.

My maternal grandparents had an old home with a huge backyard that included a large pool and an “old school” pool house. It had a large play area along with a tiny, tiny bathroom. There was a storage shed in the back with our toys and flotation devices.

My mother, father, brother and I would pile into the car practically every weekend to spend the day outside by the pool. When I was younger, I was no fan of the water. I would have to be carried to the water where I would cling to my mother like a barnacle to a ship.

As I became older and less timid, I swam on my own. My brother and I would run around and scream and laugh.

Every once in a while, godparents and aunts and uncles and cousins would join us. There would be barbeque and games and swimming contests and lots of laughter.

I learned to skate in the backyard, using the concrete around the pool as the smooth, flat surface that was best for learning on those old metal skates.

My childhood bestfriend and I exchanged friendship bracelets after she came over one afternoon early into our friendship.

It’s interesting because today many parents would throw up their hands in horror at the thought of young children wearing floaties or skating on the concrete around a pool while wearing heavy metal skates.

However, these memories are among some of my post poignant memories from my childhood and I would not change them for anything in the world.