My favourite things about childhood
Rainbow Brite, Sailor Moon, The Last Unicorn,
Little House
on the
Prairie, Halloween movies, Disney movies, Beatrix Potter, corn on the
cob, freshly cut grass, the Streetsville swimming pool, the smell of the
barbeque, the ultramarine afternoon sky, the pool at Glendon Road,
freezies, the chime of the grandfather clock, the Gavises’ cottage at
Lake Huron, Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, the mournful cooing of
doves, Carly Simon tapes in the car, long drives through the country,
ladies-in-the-bathtub, Harriet the bird who lived in the wall, climbing
and sitting on fences, The Sound of Music, driving by beautiful houses
along Mississauga Road and along Lakeshore, paper dolls, drawing houses
with Mom, Mini Eggs, Friday nights at Swiss Chalet, Grandma’s Little
Darlings, the Bread and Honey Festival, ferris wheels, the Mermaid
Lagoon, the Credit River, rolling down grassy hillsides, seeing the
Delta Hotel on the way home from Stratford, the ducks on the banks of
the Avon River, twilight walks, the sound of the ice cream truck at
twilight, The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, swings, Robert Munsch,
Roald Dahl, parks, long walks with Mom through Wonderland, all the song
and dance routines me and Chel came up with, Mom rubbing my back at
night singing “I’m Bound for the Island,” water water water, French
fries after swimming lessons, freshly baked cookies, pumpkins at
Halloween, decorating the tree at Christmas, the Mary and Jophes manger,
Stratford, Andrea Boccelli, Enya, Minimart, licking the beaters, staying
home from school, lighthouses and harbours, banana-flavoured
antibiotics, Mrs. Wilson who encouraged me to read and write in grade
three, trips to Erin Mills Town Center, fantasy novels, Jillian Jiggs,
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Tamora Pierce,
Madeleine L’Engle, Bookmice, the family gathering around watching
Roseanne at dinnertime, sitcoms in general, MYT showcases, Pete’s
Dragon, Tim Horton’s Iced Capps, The Magic School Bus, beanie babies,
puppets, the Jewel Princesses, elaborate Barbie dramas and my attempts
to transpose them into novels, make-believe, dressup, bicycle-riding,
school concerts, writing stories outside, the Muppets, Tabitha Twitchet,
Dad’s ridiculous impersonations, the sound of crickets in the evening,
Mitzi Bomenz, Aloe the Flying Aunt, Mom’s guided visual meditations
(Crystal mountain)
water, French
fries after swimming lessons, freshly baked cookies, pumpkins at
Halloween, decorating the tree at Christmas, the Mary and Jophes manger,
Stratford, Andrea Boccelli, Enya, Minimart, licking the beaters, staying
home from school, lighthouses and harbours, banana-flavoured
antibiotics, Mrs. Wilson who encouraged me to read and write in grade
three, trips to Erin Mills Town Center, fantasy novels, Jillian Jiggs,
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Tamora Pierce,
Madeleine L’Engle, Bookmice, the family gathering around watching
Roseanne at dinnertime, sitcoms in general, MYT showcases, Pete’s
Dragon, Tim Horton’s Iced Capps, The Magic School Bus, beanie babies,
puppets, the Jewel Princesses, elaborate Barbie dramas and my attempts
to transpose them into novels, make-believe, dressup, bicycle-riding,
school concerts, writing stories outside, the Muppets, Tabitha Twitchet,
Dad’s ridiculous impersonations, the sound of crickets in the evening,
Mitzi Bomenz, Aloe the Flying Aunt, Mom’s guided visual meditations
(Crystal mountain)