Mary at Owlhaven is hosting a wonderful carnival today, where she asks us to share a little about our childhood homes. Click the button below for more details, to read about others’ childhood homes, or to join in the fun yourself!

There’s so much I could say about the home where I grew up, and at first, I had a hard time narrowing down all my thoughts and memories to a coherent post. In the end, I decided to make an acrostic out of the words Child and Home, using each letter to represent an aspect or vivid memory of the home where I spent most of my first 18 years.

C – Country. We lived out in “the sticks,” as some say. One side of our property bordered on a neighbor’s yard, another bordered on a pond, and the other 2 bordered on corn fields. Growing up in the country meant fireflies, bullfrogs, and crickets on summer nights (with an occasional yowl from a distant bobcat), sometimes unplowed roads in the winter, and a beautiful view of the stars on clear nights.

H – Hill. Our backyard was essentially a hill that went down, down, down to a pond. In the summer, we’d lie on the ground and roll right down the hill, giggling and gasping, until we were too dizzy to move. In the winter, we’d hop on our sleds and fly down the hill, through the reeds and weeds and zoom out onto the frozen pond, hoping that the ice wouldn’t crack! I don’t envy my parents for having to mow that hill, but it brought hours of entertainment to my childhood.

I – Isolated. We had a grand total of two nearby neighbors, lots of fields, lots of woods. It was a safe area, so we could wander for hours — down the dirt path near our home, along the stream that cut through some woods close by, down by the “main road” to pick wild raspberries. When it was time to come home, my mom or dad would ring a bell they had mounted outside. As soon as we heard it peal, we’d head home.

L – Letting in the light. Every morning before school, my mom would come into my room and snap open the blinds while she sang “Wake up, wake up, you sleepyhead.” My mom has always been a morning person. I have always…not been one. But the light streaming in the windows usually got me up and moving. I’d stumble out of bed onto the orange-ish shag rug and start the morning preparations.

D – “Double S.” My neighbor and I established a secret hideaway in a little copse of trees beyond one of the cornfields near our house. We dubbed it “The Double S” and after a while, even forgot what that meant. But I think that originally, it was our “secret spot” or SS…which lead to the nickname The Double S. We spent hours there, pretending different areas were different rooms of our “house,” or just hanging out, certain that no grown-ups would ever discover our little hideout.

H – Holiday Magic. My parents were always sure to keep our focus on the true meaning of Christmas, but we also enjoyed a childhood belief in Santa. My parents were very ambitious and would wait until we were asleep on Christmas Eve before hauling out the ornaments, decorations, and gifts. When we awoke in the morning, the living room was always transformed into a “suddenly Christmas” celebration. The tree, standing regally on a platform which housed a winter wonderland complete with a train, little houses, even miniature ice skaters on a pond made from a mirror, stood on one side of the room. Because we were up while it was still dark (who can sleep in on Christmas morning?), its lights and beauty were reflected in the large picture window on the other wall. I was so excited when I turned 12 and was invited to sneak out of bed after bedtime to help with the set-up, while my brother slept.

O – On the swingset. We had your basic metal swingset in our yard, and I can not tell you how many hours I spent on that thing. I would take a book (often Nancy Drew) to swing and read. I’d lug the garden hose over in an attempt to turn the high metal slide into a water slide. And I would cart out my trusty Panasonic tape player/recorder along with me, fully equipped with batteries and Kenny Rogers’ Greatest Hits. I sang along to Lady, Coward of the County, and, of course, The Gambler, while I hung upside down from the trapeze or sailed along on the glider.

M – Meals together. Family dinners were always a priority at our house. Since my parents ran a small ice cream store, one of them often had to work there in the evening, but whichever parent was home would prepare dinner and we’d always sit down together to eat. We ate in the dining room on special occasions, but my memories are full of meals together at the kitchen table. I also remember sneaking food to the dog when I didn’t want to eat it. Not surprisingly, she always sat by my chair at dinner time.

E – Eek! One night as I reluctantly faithfully worked on my piano practice, alone in the living room, I heard a loud slap-like sound. The steps behind me didn’t have carpet, and it didn’t take long to realize that something had landed on one of the steps. Before I could investigate, that something rose up from the steps and started flying around the room. It was a bat! Naturally, I screamed. Apparently, the critter had been in our attic and had somehow escaped into the upstairs and was now desperately looking for a way out. My mom came to the rescue with a broom and soon the bat was happily outside, and we were happily bat-less.

A glimpse of our house from across the pond. It was white when we lived there, but you get the idea. Click to see it bigger.

Hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane. Thanks, Mary, for hosting this — it’s a great idea!