Visiting the Past

Places hold onto memories until someone returns to retrieve them.

Embedded into the uneven wooden plank floors, walls covered with layers of paint and wallpaper is the essence of those who dwelled within.

I smile as I am gently accompanied by my senses through a time warp into the past.

Memories made while sitting on the floor playing jacks or Barbies are never too far away and bring a smile to my face.

Anticipating Aunt Stellie’s scrumptious biscuits and burning our impatient fingers while we crammed them full of sweet sticky jelly was our main hobby on Saturday mornings. We sat in front of the TV watching cartoons and savoring our breakfast. We always ran back to the kitchen for seconds and sometimes thirds!!

The wood stove in the living room was the only heat source but it was enough making this room the coziest in all of the house. It was the heart of the home where all of us gathered to watch television and talk and laugh. Magical moments.

We slept in the back bedroom in the wintertime where the warmth from the wood stove stopped at the solid wooden door. My two cousins and I slept in that bed and we needed so many layers of blankets and quilts piled on top of us that we couldn’t move a muscle. This remembrance brings laughter to my soul. We used to lay awake and giggle while shivering from the cold air.

Those were the memories I came back to retrieve. They greeted me like a dog awaiting a master who had been absent for an extended vacation. Upon my departure, I vowed to never stay away for such a long time as memories should be revisited now and then just to remind ourselves where we come from.

Jolly Jeffers Goins – 2/8/2016