Nostalgia for Childhood: The Magic of Simple Moments

When I think back to my favorite memories as a kid, the vast majority of them are from seemingly unending days hanging out with family or friends.

I remember spending Sundays at my Mamaw Lemon’s house having Sunday dinner hanging out with the cousins, trekking to “the dessert” and even accidentally calling 911 a few times. I loved seeing how far we could get the leg of the swing set to pull out of the ground as we swung higher and higher…and tying the swinging monkey bar thing up, so we had a makeshift basketball hoop.

I can remember countless weekends playing touch football and bunt baseball in Bridget Lemon’s backyard. I never wanted those weekends at the Palmer’s to end. They were like heaven on earth to me as a kid.

I remember spending time at my Papaw’s house just hanging out. I can’t tell you how many hot dogs I’ve eaten at that house.

I remember unending days playing wiffle ball with the neighborhoods kids across the street from my babysitters house.

I remember going on camping trips with My family and friends just hanging out by the fire after a long day. I always loved camping so much…just sitting around, enjoying the time outside while enjoying time with people.

Don’t get me started on Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving at Papaw & Marcias, Christmas and Easter at Mamaw Lemon’s, or New Years Eve and the 4th of July at the Palmer’s.

Even as I got older, some of my favorite times are from gathering around with other people’s families and just hanging out. From driveways to pools, there was a special quality about these moments. I’m sure the adults were as rushed and as busy as I often feel now. But, as a kid, these days felt magical. I would get lost in the fun of whatever we happened to be playing that day. It was a joy to laugh, and hang out, and even eat.

My world today always seems so rushed. There never seems to be many opportunities just to sit around and be with people. There’s always somewhere to be, somewhere to go, something to do.

It feels as if COVID has robbed us of this even more by making it difficult to gather with the people outside our small circles. Never mind the fact that we spend so much time with our nose in our phones when we are together.

I’ve caught myself thinking back to those days quite a bit lately. Nostalgic for the childlike joy I can still feel as I think back to years gone by.

These moments still come as an adult. But, they come less frequently and they often happen so quickly. They are so easy to let slip by without truly enjoying them.

I’ve tried to start being more intentional about savoring these moments. I’m trying to learn to be more present in the moment. I’ve learned that life is truly short and - I’m lousy at it, but - I’m trying to learn to squeeze everything I can out of every moment.

As Megan’s family gathered and made apple butter today, it was so reminiscent of those days that seem like lifetimes ago.

As I watched Isaac gleefully play in a ditch for hours on end today, I couldn’t help but smile thinking of my son experiencing that same magical joy around a kettle of apple butter with his family.