Today would have been my father's 97th birthday. He's been gone for three and a half years now. It's surprising how memories are triggered - sometimes by a date, a song, a photo, an object. Because we live in a house that he often worked on, there are several spots in our house that remind me of him and his many talents.
Last week it was a smell that brought back happy memories with Dad. I was at my childhood home. It's an old place that when built, was centred on two big oak trees. There is still one of those trees left and this year is a banner year for acorns. (Last year there were hardly any.) That oak tree stands in front of the verandah where Dad spent many happy hours on his "swinging bed," watching baseball games at the park across the street.
Because there are so many acorns this year, I googled acorn crafts and was inspired to gather acorns from home. Perhaps, on a winter day, I may use them to make a wreath or something else. Anyhow I was there at the house, shovelling acorns into a box. Along with the acorns came some twigs and leaves. They combined to produce a familiar smell. As I transferred them into the box I felt like I was smelling my childhood.
After all these years I suddenly had a flash of being a kid again, of Dad raking the oak leaves into big piles for us to jump into. We had a large front lawn, so there was lots of space to take a long run, before jumping into the piles he created for us.
It's a simple memory, nothing outstanding, but that image of Dad, encouraging us to run and jump and have fun outside makes me feel good and reminds me of how lucky we were to have him. Raking leaves into piles for us was just one of the countless things he did, to provide us with a happy childhood. Lucky us !
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