Our minds are such strange things....here it is the middle of winter....and I am thinking about fireflies. Those wonderful magical little glowing lights that blanket the air above the fields during a summer evening.
I used to know the science behind them, but ~sigh~ I don't anymore, one more piece of knowlege I have forgotten.
As a small child (and not so small, since it hasn't been that long ago I was catching them with my children) I used to fill a quart canning jar with them, sit it on the back porch, and watch them crawl and flicker their lights off and on. Of course I had that one night in which I insisted the jar sit on my bedside table, so I could sleep in their soft glow, and of course they were all dead by morning. Does any child not do that at least once? Some lessons it seems we do have to learn the hard way, maybe all important lessons need to be learned in such a manner.
But that didn't make them lose their allure.
Isn't it strange how some things always fascinate us, and with others eventually they lose their appeal? The things of childhood though, those phenomenons that caused us so much enchantment, they still hold us in their spell. Perhaps it is the memories we have of them. Perhaps it is the memory of the way we felt in our childlike wonder.
There are many childhood memories I no longer have, but some just don't fade:
The first time I tasted a wild strawberry, that hard little berry with so many seeds, but the sweetness of that berry was so much better than any I had ever picked from the garden.
The first time I held a duckling, so small, so fragile, so fluffy and soft.
The first time I hid all by myself during a game of hide and seek.
The first time I had the courage to swing as high as I could and then jump from the swing.
The first time I saw a meteor shower....those wonderful falling stars, closing my eyes and wishing.
Other things I don't really remember the first time I became aware of them, fireflies, a full harvest moon, or rainbows for instance, but funnily enough, I can remember so very many times I was bewitched at their sight as an adult.
They still captivate, they still hold their charm. I hope they always do.
6 comments:
I never held a duckling in my open hands. I feel deprived. Beautiful post. Thanks.
I've never held a duckling either (but I do love a plate of sauteed duck's tongues - that was for Ian, I haven't spoken of food for so long).
No fireflies in my youth. Sighs.
I remember the first time I dived/dove into a pool headfirst, after having lost courage so many times before that and splashing in!!
I've always wanted to touch a cow.
You had me remembering again. No fireflies, but meteor showers, tastes and smells.
Fi mentioning food! Strange.....very strange ;-)
jonas--I hope you get that opportunity some day, such fragile sweet beauty in the hand.
Fi--lol at ducks tongues, awwwww no fireflies? Hopefully a summer night in the states will remedy that.
You vist my home darling woman and you can touch a cow..or if you come during the fair...you can help me bathe, blow dry, trim, and comb out one...now that is an experience!
Ian--childhood thrills, chills, and wonders....
Now why WOULD Fi mention food just for you? ~silly people you are ~
Food, glorious food!
Hot sausage and mustard!
While we're in the mood --
Cold jelly and custard!
And as for the cow, I may very well take you up on that Sunny!!!
MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Your comments about meteor showers got me thinking about old times watching the night sky
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