It's funny how a simple thing like that can stir up memories: both recent and distant.
I picked up my shoes and do what I've always done since I was a child before placing them on my feet...I tapped the heals on the floor then turned them over in case anything had crawled inside them since my last wearing.
I grew up in Wichita Falls and tornadoes weren't the only thing we experienced. We also had scorpions. Not in great abundance, but enough to make you tap your shoes upside down. It also made me think of the horned toad (which we referred to as 'horny toad'...what? I seriously thought that was the name) we used to try and catch. And by the way, they aren't toads at all...they're lizards. Lizards known for spitting blood from their eyes, which I never witnessed, thankfully. And did you further know it was named the Texas State Reptile in 1992? I haven't seen one in a ridiculous amount of time, so I thought they were extinct. However, they are currently listed as threatened species.
I majorly digress...
After I tapped my shoes in the closet, I suddenly remembered last night I had a dream I caught a scorpion. In the dream, my mom and I were trying to catch it. She kept asking why I wanted to catch such a creature (though, like me, she was a Scorpio!). I explained I wanted someone who had never seen one before to see it. We caught it in a pickle jar and put it on the counter. Then we went for a walk.
And here I was, 30 years later going off on a walk with my kids and I had to smile.
When I walk with them in the evenings, I get to watch them have so much fun just walking a dog, comparing the shape of leaves, hearing my sweet boy say the clouds are "really showing off heaven tonight - your mom and PawPaw must have a great view of that", picking up acorns, giving compliments regarding how much his throwing form has improved, commenting on how well Belle pays attention to Scout and takes her job of walking her seriously...as she smiles the entire time I remember doing the same things with my family. The same very simple things. I guess it's what you tend to repeat when you grow up. The things you did with your family. The way you were raised. What you want to pass down to your kids and what you hope they see as important.
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So much in life changes as the years go by, but the simplest things we take for granted and the importance of them - the way just these every day experiences STICK forever - amazes me. I worry how I'm not able to do 'special' things for them, like vacations every other family seemed to do this summer, but then I'm reminded of times like tonight and what they meant to me as a child.
The clockwork things. Doing homework. Eating dinner. Helping load the dishwasher. Sitting in the back yard or walking around the block. Talking about the day. Just being together. Holding hands. No television. No phone ringing. Communicating. You know...the "old fashioned", and might I add BEST, way.
I watched them take turns walking Scout. In their excitement, walking turned to running. I actually got an energy in me because of them and I wanted to run too. And I am NOT a runner! But it's times like this they make me feel 7 and 10 again. And it's just one of the many reasons I absolutely cherish them and these every day, simple things.
So if that makes my life old fashioned, boring, whatever...so be it. I'll take it any day. Because I know it's what is forming part of their opinion of what a family does together. Technology has it's place in life. Work. After my kids are in bed. I watch it take over people's lives and then they end up missing out on...well...life. So here's to horned toads, acorns, walking dogs and yes...even scorpions. Because it's the glue that secures our memories of life. Of living. It's what we will remember when it's our time to look back on what we did on this earth and how we did it and ask, "What would I have done different?".
Always remember and never forget: Don't be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. ~Charles Richards
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