We have been on the farm where I grew up this week, and Charlotte has been able to play with bits and pieces leftover from my childhood. I’ve encountered long forgotten objects that recall feelings and visions from times long ago. When my family got a new camper after I moved away from home, my mom repurposed our old camper as a playhouse. I went on family vacations in that camper every summer, and just being in that space brings forth memories that could only be awakened in context. My siblings and I would lie side by side on our bellies looking out the window of the top bed, singing along with our cassette tapes as we rolled all over the country. Reliving my childhood through Charlotte is one of my favorite aspects of motherhood.
I think I was 10 when my only brother was born, and I carried him around on my hip as if he was my baby. I shared a room with him that was decorated with Thomas the Train. My brother spent the entire day with Chuck when he visited us at our parent’s house. It was adorable. They played dolls in the basement and then went outside to our old camper. Seth and Charlotte enjoyed some soup, pizza, and of course tea as they played. When I finally spied on them, I was late to the party as they were just finishing up. They did the dishes briefly before they left for the pretend store. Later on they went riding around the farm on the four wheeler and finished off the night with marshmallows by the fire. Winnie stretched out up top where we used to ride. Her eyelashes and toes both reminding me of her dad, who we are missing on this trip.
All Mountains and Molehills 