Looking Back

I have been spending so much time looking back lately.  I have been meticulously extracting long lost memories from my child hood.  My search has its purpose, I am trying to recapture that care free time when I was a child.  That time in our lives when we played out side all day, we had no plan when we left the house, just to seek adventure and have fun.  Once we returned home there was always something warm to eat, and someone very glad to have you home, eager to hear about your adventures.    The most important aspect I am trying to retrieve from these memories, is that ability to believe that anything is possible.  That if we are playing a game or having fun, one more person added will only increase that joy.  That is something that is lost in most adults.   Socially children still feel a part of the entire world, exclusion is not in their venacular, their lives have not been sequestered yet into, my neighborhood, my family, my friends
 I observed this in action at Pemaquid Beach last week.  A small group of Moms, Dads, and toddlers were having fun in the waves and sand.   A grandmother and her three year old were passing by,  when the little girl noticed the children were digging with shovels and buckets she told them "I have a bucket too !!"  The little girl then proceeded to run down the beach to her blanket , scoop up her bucket and shovel and run back to play with her new found friends.  An adult would never presume to step into an activity without being "invited".  That is such a shame, so much social interaction lost, so many friends unmade.  The group of toddlers, including the newest addition, played without incident for the rest of the afternoon.  The grandmother brought her chair over to keep watch on her grand daughter and  actually did  find some lovely conversation with the young parents.
I vow to be inclusive,  I vow to be child friendly, I don't mean friendly to children, but to be aware of all people and their potential in my life.
I am currently reading Charlotte's Web  by E.B. White,  a delicious trip back to fourth grade, my fourth grade teachers Miss Poulin and Miss Picard appear before my eyes.  I have been dipped in the waters and emerge on the playground at Pleasant St. School.  oh life is so sweet, go ahead take a big bite!!!!!

In the back L- R   Bob Muzeroll, Ed Muzeroll,
front           L-R     Anna Muzeroll, Kathy Muzeroll