When I was a little girl, I remember I could never wait for summer time. My birthday was in December, but so was my brother’s; so my parents, being the responsible frugal adults they still are today…and have therefore raised me to be–but that’s another story…meshed my birthday, my brother’s birthday, and on special years, Christmas, all on one day. So summer was my season. I couldn’t wait to take off my shoes and spend all day outside running in the grass catching toads and chasing June bugs.
But my most cherished memories of summer time are those I spent at my grandpa’s cabin in Montock, Missouri. Almost every summer, from the time I was 8-months-old till I was 14-years-old, my family and I would drive 3 hours from the small Illinois town where we lived to my grandpa’s small, one room cabin set in the Missouri Ozarks. I would spend a week or two traipsing among forests of ancient oak trees, walking barefoot in ice cold creeks, catching lizards, snakes, toads, and turtles.
Suddenly, the world I knew of parents, rules, school, homework, peer-pressure, was far, far behind me and I entered an enchanted fairy-tale-world filled with starry nights, calico clouded days, and never ending adventures.
I was lucky to have this secret hide-away as a child, I was even luckier to have the grandpa I had to provide it for me. In middle school, when girls my age were painting their faces with lipgloss and eyeshadow, I was busy being outside with my dog or even preparing for the next science fair, which for me usually involved some new innovation in conservation. This small cabin in the woods was a refuge the harsh criticism I tolorated on a daily basis among my peers.
I was one of the few kids that enjoyed childhood to the fullest, I drew it out for as long as possible. I remember the last trip I made with my family to my grandpa’s cabin. It was the happiest I had ever been; the most carefree. I’ve tried again and again to reclaim that feeling, even when I’m riding my horse, I can’t seem to capture it. The magic of that place seemed to die with my grandpa, it will always be remembered, but can never be relived.
