Really....REALLY?!???!

That is precisely what I would have been thinking had I tuned into my last blog, only to discover that it wasn't really a full posting...apologies. I know it was cheap, but I really did need some time to just vegetate with the fam!

I am dreaming of Spring. Green grass, the little purple crocuses pushing there way out of the ground and the gravel built up on the side of the road after the snow melts. You may think this is a strange memory to have about Spring, but I can honestly say, it's one of my oldest. I can still picture walking to school, the new seasons earliest sunshine warming me as I kicked the gravel into big dusty clouds. I would drag my shoes through it and make designs all the way along Nichol Road. (in hind-sight, I'm sure my Mom loved me for this!) The gravel always triggered a feeling nothing else could. To this day, I still feel like a little girl when I see it.

The gravel was also a precursor to our annual trips to Parksville on Vancouver Island. I still long for those days of complete carelessness. I would spend countless hours on the beach by myself, wandering back and forth, discovering, uncovering, recovering. It is so pure at the oceans side. I miss it more than I could ever begin to explain.

I was a lucky child, I had things that I still hold very dear to me, but I think my most valuable remainders from youth are my memories. I have my wonderful parents to thank for this. My hard working Father, who spent 30 year slaving away to make sure we had everything he could possibly give us. 30 years in which he never took a sick day...seriously, never. My beautiful, amazing Mother, who spent her days taking care of us and her nights readying herself for doing it all again the next day. Who, every Thursday, without fail, morphed from Mom to Girl Guide leader, to help other young girls find the same confidence in themselves that she had helped me find within. May she rest peacefully.

How I hope I can supply my children with the same secure, happy existence my parents did for me. I dream that I am able to let them stay children as long as possible, to allow them to build memories to carry with them all their lives. And when times get rough, may they have there own "gravel" to reminisce about.