Wednesday, May 14, 2008

there are places i remember

it's funny the little things that take you back.

i am sitting here at work with my window wide open because they are finishing up some painting in here (hello! stinky!) and i had almost forgotten the sounds of daytime Summer. see, while my windows can often be found open in the evenings, we don't really get a lot of opportunity for having them open during the day, unless you want to semi-dissolve with humidity. you wouldn't believe the difference in the sounds you can hear.

at night, there are leaves rustling, a soft sound that the daytime drowns out. birds singing their last lullabies. there are peepers & crickets. it's all very peaceful & hush, even with its noises.

during the day, though, the birds sing cheerfully & chirp as they search for a grub of some sort. lawnmowers whirr in the distance. people call to one another or share laughter. these sounds, so different from their evening counterparts, are as bright as the sunlight itself.

listening to the "soundtrack of a Summer day" (yes, still Spring, but in May, Florida feels like Summer to this New-England-born girl) reminds me of this past Saturday morning, and a blog post i started to compose in my head as i drove down windy back roads on my trek to get my hair cut.

the morning was so reminiscent of the Summers of my childhood. there was a slight damp chill to the air, not enough to be uncomfortable, but that invigorating freshness that comes with a new morning. instead of hermetically sealing myself in my car with the air conditioning, i lowered my windows a bit, letting the breeze ruffle my hair, and soaking in the "Summer-ness" with my senses.

the birds waking up with a twittering. the squirrels scampering & digging & re-hiding their stashes. a man edging his lawn, the smell of freshly cut grass drifting along on the breeze. children shouting to one another as they ran across a yard, one in pursuit of the other. the sights. the sounds. the smells. all uniquely Summer in the place that i grew up.

as i travelled along, my forward motion blurring the details of the homes & trees & fields i passed, i could easily mistake the fuzzy images in my peripheral vision for those i left behind in Connecticut. wandering winding roads through residential areas not confined by gates & walls, squashing neighborhoods into the isolation of designated cookie-cutter communities. roads shaded by stately trees with their leaves dancing ever so slightly, sunlight streaming through in little puddles & patches onto the ground.

until a palm tree would cut across the painting in my mind, incongruous with the reverie i was playing. and even though i've grown to like my transplanted location, something in me ached just a little for those roads from my Long Ago (or so it feels). is it really the roads, though, and the places that i miss? or is it the familiarity of my birthplace... and the days i can't go back to, even if i try?

11 with their own thoughts:

Janet Wednesday, May 14, 2008 2:01:00 PM  

what a beautiful post! Having lived far far away from where I grew up, I realized that indeed, you do miss what you're familiar with :-)

Anonymous,  Wednesday, May 14, 2008 2:21:00 PM  

Lovely post. I like remembering my childhood, although it can make me achy for a certain contentedness and belonging that's somehow different from anything you experience in adulthood.

On a side note, how out of touch am I with technology when even the birds Twitter, but I don't?

Jeanne Wednesday, May 14, 2008 6:20:00 PM  

Love the post. I think a little of both. I visit with lots people from all different parts of the country and I gotta tell you I wouldn't trade New England. I'm sure most people feel the same about wherever they live. I've never lived anywhere but the Northeast so I can't really compare, but love the seasons and not having 'extreme' weather for the most part.

Anonymous,  Wednesday, May 14, 2008 7:52:00 PM  

I often think I miss the roads. But then I have the chance to travel them. They are vaguely familiar to me, but I feel like a stranger when I do... like someone looking in from the outside. It's then that I realize that it isn't merely a place, but it's a time period and the people of that time that I miss. The people from those situations are still alive, but time has changed me... us.

Then I am, for once, easily able to stop wishing away the present by longing for the past or the future. And live for the present. Before that, too, is gone.

Ted D Wednesday, May 14, 2008 8:35:00 PM  

Dawn, fantastic job.

One of my favorites I've read here.

::standing ovation::

*krystyn* Thursday, May 15, 2008 2:03:00 AM  

I've had the same feeling - there is a lot I miss about Michigan.

~**Dawn**~ Thursday, May 15, 2008 1:06:00 PM  

Thanks, Janet. Makes you wonder if you miss the actual "stuff" or just the sense of familiarity, doesn't it?

Joe: Thank you. I know what you mean. Half the ache is wanting to go back to a *time* even more than a place, which we obviously can't do. Finally starting to get the whole "youth is wasted on the young" deal. =P And hey, the world is a-twitter, what can I say? LOL

Jeanne: I felt that way about New England for a long time. But I am glad I have the experiences that come from living where I do now too... Always a New England girl at heart though!

Nichole: I think for me it depends on which roads I travel. Some make me happy & content. Others... I do feel like I know longer fit because I have changed or the road has.

Thank you, Ted. =)

Krystyn: And then I think there are a lot of things I would miss about here too. Hmmm...

kreed Thursday, May 15, 2008 10:12:00 PM  

Great post. When I get one whiff of hot, super sweet magnolia blooms I am immediately transported back to summers of my childhood. I can't ever decide if it makes me sad or nostalgic or what...

~**Dawn**~ Saturday, May 17, 2008 11:01:00 AM  

kreed: I think it's a little of both. =)

gail@more than a song Monday, May 19, 2008 9:27:00 AM  

I love having the windows open, it's quiet inside and you can hear birds outside chirping along with other noises! The last couple weeks I've been trying to ride around town with my windows down and sunroof open, because soon it will be too stinking hot to drive anywhere without air conditioning!

~**Dawn**~ Tuesday, May 20, 2008 10:31:00 AM  

Gail: It's already too hot here. =/

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