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Tuesday, May 10, 2005
where I'm from
(edited about a gajillion times since I first posted it)
I shamelessly ripped off this idea from The Happy Husband, which I thought I had found through Amy's blog but now that I look I see that I must have been wrong, as she has no link to it. (ed: yes she does, Rachel, you idiot.) Anyone who can tell me how I did come across The Happy Husband, please do so, thanks (from a person whose brain decided to go on permanent vacation as a 30th-birthday present). Anyway. Without further ado:
I am from
playing outside and dusty summers
riding horses and bicycles and in the backs of pickup trucks
I am from sunburns and peeling cheeks
from car-hood sleds on pine needles
from tarweed and peach brush and dirty faces
I am from sawdust and pine tar and pulling brush and bonfires
from swimming and fishing in creeks
from reading on rocks
and sleeping outdoors
I am from unruly hair and hand-me-downs
rats-nests and more interesting things to do than think about how I look
from schoolyard torture and you're so ugly
from "i'll be your friend when nobody else is around to see"
I am from daily sobbing heartbreak
I am from anne of green gables and trixie belden and the hardy boys
and marguerite henry and laura ingalls wilder and black beauty and the black stallion
from cynthia voigt and beverly cleary and judy blume
and jane austen and jane eyre and john steinbeck and charles dickens
from horse books and books about growing up and books about gymnasts or ballerinas
and a thousand others
I am from long summer days spent in the library sucking on butterscotch disks
reading through one shelf at a time
I am from spelling bees, from math competitions
from trophies and family pride
from small-town people who never forget (and unfortunately neither do their kids)
I am from no traffic lights and no movie house and no wal-mart
from golden grass and green oaks as far as you can see
from stickers in my socks and freckles on my shoulders
I am from rattly old cars
from all-day trips with the windows down
from "mistress shady" and "who stole the cookie" and "twenty questions"
I am from signal peak and morro bay and monterey and bagby grade and coulterville
and everywhere else within $20 worth of gas
I am from getting lost on purpose
from "i spy" and "ninety-nine bottles of coke" and "i met a fair maiden out walking one day" and "my grandfather's clock"
I am from parents who hug
from stories read out loud, from hard-working people
I am from a brother who teases and cousins who play pranks
I am from family secrets and little dramas and tension
and from reconciliation
I am from so much love
I am from junior high dances
from "hair band" ballads and very bad dancing and searing crushes
from giggling friends and bubble skirts
high tops and big shirts and rolled-cuff cutoffs
I am from underachieving
from "performs below potential" and "disorganized" and 99th-percentile SATs
from driving to the river and swimming in the moonlight
from midnight walks and deep conversations about love and eternity
and whether you think he really likes me
I am from surrender
from flaming enthusiasm for Jesus and singing hymns and praise
I am from deep abiding joy
I am from the world's happiest marriages
(that's two generations' worth)
I am from our own private language
from a thousand loving nicknames and as much affection as I can handle
(and that's a lot)
from Candy Land and Homer Price and Goodnight Moon
I am from sticky kisses and dandelion bouquets
Comments
There is a link to Happy Husband in my sidebar (that needs to be updated, just like my hairdo), but not to this little thing he does. I recall him asking for people who played along to send it in to him.
Posted by: Amy's Humble Musings at May 10, 2005 12:31 PM
This is beautiful, Rach.
Posted by: Susan at May 10, 2005 01:04 PM
Another Trixie Belden fan - hooray!
Posted by: Sal at May 10, 2005 05:50 PM
I am sobbing right now. I thought of us and all that fun the whole time. Oh man, I miss you sooo much! You have been such a helpful, inspiring joy for me today, more so than you could ever imagine. I love you.
Posted by: jenn at May 10, 2005 09:18 PM
:)
I like you.
Posted by: Kristen at May 11, 2005 09:09 AM
THAT was SOOOOOO good!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOW!
Posted by: molly at May 11, 2005 11:23 AM
"I am from getting lost on purpose"
Your brother is the same way! But it drives me nuts! Just once I want to go the shortest and most direct way to get somewhere! Ok, I admit he is getting better about that. Most the time. =)
Posted by: debi at May 11, 2005 11:27 AM
Very cool! Like this darn weather.
Posted by: Sher at May 11, 2005 04:10 PM
That was awesome, Rachel. Different sides of the world, yet so similar....
Posted by: Valerie at May 11, 2005 04:33 PM
