Caleb discovered lightning bugs recently. He is truly amazed and fascinated. It has become somewhat of a nighttime ritual to go outside (after dosing our bug spray!) and catch lightning bugs. We happened to be out there last night early doing dog duties and adjusting the pool levels. The lightning bugs seem to start out very low, right at his level. The excitement in his voice is just priceless, “Dare’s one over dare! I see one!” He runs along behind them with his hand out giggling and grinning from ear to ear. I can speak from experience, a good way to work out your lower back is to lean over your toddler, hold his hand out and run around the yard in this position after bugs. If you’d like an added challenge, carry a phone - while talking on it of course, a dog food scoop (which is a 1 gallon bucket when you had a ginormous dog) and some cream to keep the bugs off the dog as well. Did I mention I had a glove on one hand with cream all over one finger? We caught many this way though (more so once I put down the added challenges), his sheer delight made it all worth it. He even managed to catch a couple by himself!

See Charley on the other side, looking in, his eye is magnified

“Wight up wightning bugs!” - I saw ONE light up the whole time we looked at the jar! Who has the secret? Bigger jar?

Still fun examining them none the less

Today is my best friend’s birthday. Let me back up though. We met in preschool when we were only three years old. How many people can honestly say at 26, that they have been best friends for 23 years? I can’t imagine it happens too often. She is turning 26 today. We are exactly three months apart, but I always said she had the perfect birthday, exactly halfway between Christmases. She sent me an email yesterday…

“…I was looking at your pictures from this weekend and I can’t help but feel like I’m looking into the face of my childhood. I just can’t help but see you in him! Even his mannerisms. The second pic with his lips pursed - you do the exact same thing, to this day. The exact same expression. Maybe that’s why every time I see him I want to go play…”

As kids, we used to always go outside and catch lightning bugs in the evening. It is one of those sentimental ties to childhood. I had this little wooden bug box shaped like a mailbox with a frog on it. We would fill it up with as many bugs as possible, thinking for sure they would survive on leaves and twigs forever.

Isn’t it strange the memories that your mind can string together from your childhood. As I am writing this, I suddenly recalled getting Mexican Jumping Beans from the checkout counter at Roses (which I recently learned from my son’s cartoons actually contain little bugs). We put them on the table between to two twin beds in my room and jumped on the bed while eating Ludens Wild Cherry candy cough drops. Clearly my mom must have been outside, as she would have never allowed jumping on the beds!

We had a deck attached to the back of our house, and Amber and I took our bananas out there to eat. Really, we were probably just eating them to get to the dessert that might follow. So instead of eating them, we tossed them under the deck near to foundation of the house. All these years later, my mom busted me, she was probably watching us out the window. We patted ourselves on the back for being so clever and getting away with it.

Here we are catching lighting bugs in nineteen eighty somethin’ Her looking all cute in her girlish nightgown, me looking all…God knows, there aren’t words, thanks Mom. Looks like I’m rocking the Daisy Duke bloomers or something. (Pardon these pictures, I had the hairbrained idea to make a crappy scrapbook during my freshman year in college, so I cut up a bunch of pictures. Ack.)

We’re still laughing hysterically to this day. In fact, just yesterday, we had an in depth discussion about the different class of people that go to Target vs. Walmart. Really, it was funny, to us.

Almost all of my childhood memories are wrapped up with hers. Beach vacations, massive tents using our four poster bed, playing house in the weeping willow tree in her front yard, sunbathing on the trampoline, her puppy fitting in my softball glove, all these recollections that trickle in like a tiny stream as I think back over memories long since stored away. Just little pieces of the past that individually hold little significance in the present, but when woven together, make up the fabric of my childhood. Since I know her so well, I know she’s probably going to kill me for posting these pictures (at least I didn’t post the beach one with the goofy expressions), but I should be so lucky to leave this world with a best friend of 23 years. Happy Birthday Amber!

Comments

4 Responses to “childhood is calling”

    Amber
    June 26th, 2008 7:50 am

    Geez, thanks for making me cry at work! So my birthday was pretty awful (from work, not loved ones). I should have checked your blog last night to cheer me up. Oh, and by the way, love the bloomers. I can’t believe I don’t remember those.

    Love you!!! Amber.

    Val
    June 26th, 2008 9:49 am

    Having a friend like that is really awesome….unfortunately mine lives 14 hours away :(

    Have fun catching lightening bugs!

    Val
    June 26th, 2008 11:03 am

    Totally forgot, but I tagged you!

    It will be up shortly.

    Mrs. Schmitty
    June 26th, 2008 6:00 pm

    I absolutely LOVE the wonder in his eyes in picture #4! That picture is a framer!

    P.S. I see the Intex pool in the background. How do you like it? We just bought one but have to level our yard first.

Leave A Reply