I'm in a position where I appreciate my memories greatly after having lost all my childhood photos which contained 99% of the pics I had of my parents and my growing up, but they also sometimes sting.
I find myself often tearing up when I hear certain songs that take me back to my childhood, when in my mind I can see my mom and dad sitting together on the stoop drinking tea while I play outside or when we were in the car on holiday to my grandmothers little plot house in a very small farming community where they didn't even have electricity till after she had passed away (most of the people there never wanted it). My mom often put some music on her old cabinet gramophone and sat knitting while I played with my toy cars on the carpet, especially when it was raining.
Life was so simple, we were a close family. My parents were really good God fearing people who were fair and well balanced, dishing out love, patience, attention and punishment all in just the right measurements. My dad let me have my first dog when I was still very young and put a lot of time into teaching me the value of being kind to animals making sure that my dog always had clean water, a clean food bowl and clean warm bed in the house. Oh and that he was walked and bathed often. That little Fox Terrier was my best friend.
The wooden floors in the old mining house where I grew up creaked a lot and my dad was a big believer in early to bed, especially on school nights during which time TV was also not allowed for more than about an hour a night after a bath, homework all done and supper done by 18:00. Mining house, no, my father was a teacher and my mother a nurse for a facility for people with down syndrome and other conditions. The little area called Kenilworth about 15km outside Kimberley used to belong to De Beers Consolidated before ending up transformed.
There were many hostels, a stone church, public pool, theatre hall, play park with slides and swings and seesaws and so on. Lots of tall trees which are great for climbing, old mine dumps which are great for sliding down on old car bonnets and of course a very tight little community of friends.
The old church
Sundays after church my mom made the most awesome Sunday lunches, roast lamb, roast potatoes, rice with gravy, green beans, carrots, pumpkin and always the nicest deserts like Malva pudding and such. Sunday afternoons were very quiet as my parents believed that this was the time for a nap before a family walk together after which we would get home, my sister and I would have to bath and get school stuff ready for monday, mom would make a light supper, dad would also prepare for his school week and then we would spend some time together playing a game or something before bed.
Another of my memory songs
I'll save some for Vol 2