Have you ever had a memory but you are not sure if it is in fact a memory?
When I was little, I had the amazing privilege to live down a dirt road lined with Great Aunts and Uncles and live in a home with my Nanna and Papaw. Across the road from my Momo (who was a third cousin to me). Everyone loved when I would unexpectedly drop in. I know now how very lucky I was to have so much freedom to roam as a kid and have so much love around me.
One of my favorite things was to get lost with my Momo walking in the woods. Sometimes we would just let the time fly by, by hiding in the coolness of the thick woods playing tea time, and telling stories. I think she enjoyed being away from real life as much as I did. She knew my life was not easy and as a little girl, I always felt like Momo needed me as much as I needed her. Another thing we loved to do is go up to the cemetery and have picnics on her family’s plots. There was a space with markers already there for her and her brother that was still alive. So, we would sit there to enjoy our picnics. Looking back, it is like she knew she was not going to be around and wanted to make sure I was comfortable coming there to have a place I could remember good things and not just bad.
So now that you know my special person, let me tell you about one of the things we did. There was this grown-up little once-upon-a-time country store. It had a gas pump and a little area to sit under outside. You walked in and it was just one small little room with candy bars and possible adult things behind the counter, and across the room was an old coke cola cooler box with a bottle opener on the side. One day Momo and I finally remembered to bring change with us so we could stop in the little store and get a Coke. So, in the hot Louisiana weather, we walked up to the little shop and went in and the air was so cool, it was almost cold. Big surprise to me the cokes were way cheap and I was able to get my very own. The nice man was so nice and showed me how to use the bottle opener. He told us that he just really wanted to open the little shop his dad had opened years ago. He told us to have a good day and come back soon.
It seems like we did in my memory, but no one else remembers this but me. Every time I would pass the store all grown over with weeds, I would feel longing for the little store to be open and be able to feel that cold chill and the coldest bottle of coke in the world. I think back to this memory every once in a while and go into my memory as much as I can and try to decide if it was in fact a memory or a pretend dream. It is almost like a haunting of my memories.
Do you have things like this from your childhood? I had so many fun memories I do not know why I would make anything up in my mind or dreams. I guess this is something I will never know. I hope you find enjoyment in my Southern girl memories.
Finding Evie 