Thursday, October 6, 2011

Puff, What I see, 1st Grade

I started reading Shannon's blog and she led me here which is great because of late, Lucy has not done or said anything funny and if she has, I forgot to write about it. It's been a tiring week and I'm suffering from a lack of inspiration - or it could be that my bio-rhythms are down....maybe the change of the seasons is getting to me.
Whatever the case may be, I needed some prompting and found it (here).....

What magical creature would you love to meet?
When I was a kid, we used to go to this little pizza place in South Brewer on Saturday night. I don’t remember if the pizza was any good....I don’t even remember the name of the place. What I do remember is there was this guy that used to sit on a stool playing a guitar singing folk music – and when we were there, he ALWAYS sang Puff the Magic Dragon for us. We’d sit on the floor in front of the “stage” swaying to the music and I’m sure at some point, singing along.

I had no idea what autumn mist was or where Honah Lee was but, I knew I wanted to travel in a boat with Puff sitting upon his gigantic tail. I wanted noble kings and princes to bow whenever we came....and I wanted pirates to be scared of us. But unlike Jackie, I would always bring Puff strings, sealing wax and whatever fancy stuff he wanted. I would never grow up, I would never leave Puff! I did not want him to be sad, to hang his head in sorrow and I certainly did not want his scales to fall off!
I vowed I would forever skip along the cherry lane with Puff, that we would play hide and seek until we were both so tired of hiding and seeking that we’d just lay down under the willow tree and rest. Maybe we’d nap or maybe we’d look for monkeys and turtles and dinosaurs on the clouds…and when we were rested, we’d chase our shadows or climb into our boat and venture over to visit Where the Wild Things Are.

I never got to meet Puff when I was a kid. I waited and waited for him to come and get me. When we went to the beach, I looked for him. I remember going down to the pond one time and was convinced I saw Puff way out in the middle…but I think it was actually an old tire with a bag of trash perched in the middle of it
Someday, I hope I get to meet Puff….and I hope Lucy gets to go with me….

What is the first thing you see when you walk in your house?
I love our house. I went through a phase where I hated our house, but truly, I love our house.
I love it because its small enough we can have it cleaned, top to bottom, bathrooms included, in just over an hour.

I love our house because even though its three floors (basement, first floor, second floor), no one is ever more than a shout out away

I love our house because it’s cozy and inviting – because when you walk in you don’t have to take your shoes off but you’ll want to so you can curl up on the couch, pull a blanket over you, have a cup of tea and stay for as long as you want.

I love our house because no matter what room you’re in, there’s a pile of books if you’re looking for something to read or a basket of magazines if you feel like mindless jibber jabber.

I love our house because it has pictures of family, friends and Lucy spread about so you never feel like you’re alone.

I love our house because Lucy’s artwork hangs on every wall as proudly as a Picasso or a Degas.

I love our house because when I walk in, the first thing I see is not just Lucy’s rendition of a Jackson Pollock but love, hope, family and faith.
I see what I have worked so hard for and what I have to look forward to.
I see my life just as it should be…a little messy but full of all kinds of good stuff that makes me smile, laugh, love and cry all at the same time

If you could return to any grade in school, which one would you want to do again?
High school (9th-12th grade) should never ever be repeated. I was old enough to be jaded but not old enough to talk back. I was old enough to know better but not old enough to tell someone else they should know better. High School is like purgatory….

Jr High (6th-8th grades) is just hell. You’re in the throes of puberty, trying to figure out “pop culture,“ trying to determine what is cool and what is not cool and why the kids at the corner table won’t let you sit with them but will talk to you when no one else is around – which makes no sense because these are the same kids that a year or two ago were sleeping over at your house and hanging out with you on the weekends.

4th and 5th grade, a precursor to Jr High. It’s when the cools kids started to become the cool kids, the band kids became the band kids, the teachers’ pets emerged and bullying started….but school was still fun, you could still play at recess and be a kid….sort of…..

Kindergarten.....everything was an arts and craft project and no one cared if you cried because you missed your Mum a little bit because chances are they missed their Mum too.

Its 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade I remember most fondly. I think because those are the three years in which I learned to read and learned to love reading. I was old enough to read to myself and understand what I was reading….and I could read to my little sisters.

It’s when I learned about math speed tests, spelling bees and the Pledge of Allegiance. It’s when I learned there were 49 other states, 7 continents and 4 oceans. It’s when I learned why the 4th of July is the 4th of July, who the Pilgrims were and that Maine had 16 counties.

Recess was a blast – and everybody played together. No one cared what kind of clothes you were wearing, who your Mum and Dad were or what you looked like….and if you could not jump rope or did not know how to play marbles, someone would help you, would teach you, would be your friend no matter what….

It’s when there were doors opening, minds were expanding but innocence was not totally lost and childhood still mattered

And I had great teachers – Mrs Hooper was my first grade teacher and of the three, she was my favorite but the other two get high rankings because they introduced me to so many wonderful books.

If I could go back to any grade, well, you could drop me in 1st grade and I’d be the happiest…but I’ll take 2nd or 3rd if that room is too full.

Maria the Mum

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