Remembering Childhood

I just posted to Megan's blog as I had not written in a week, and I am a bit tired and have some other work to do before relaxing in a hot bath which I seem to have been trying to take for DAYS.

I am posting a picture that I used on Megan's blog recently, taken by Larry of Alanna. Shortly after she was born, both Larry and I started photographing her. Mine are of the snapshot variety, while Larry's are just lovely pieces of art.

Alanna is not only comfortable with being photographed, but she LOVES the camera, and we have given her some of our disposables to run around and make pictures. I recently developed some of them and was shocked at the accuracy of her shots of our family and friends, and of Beppo the cat of course. The other two cats don't have shock collars on and they usually run away from her no matter what is in her hand.

Beppo was Megan's cat, and when she moved out, she became our cat (how many of you know THAT story!!!) We obtained two more cats after her, which totally freaked her out. Then Megan took off for Iraq and was REALLY gone, and that was when she went bonkers. Peeing all over everything. We could not get rid of her, and she would die outside, so we got a shock collar to keep her in 3 rooms (sort of an invisible fence for cats). It worked. She has never peed since (except in the litter box that is...) and a fate of three rooms to live in is not that bad considering the alternatives. So..what's a few flashes in the old eyeballs?

I had Alanna after daycare today and had to go to the chiropractor in our neighborhood. Ken has his office in his house which I LOVE, but I did not know what to do with her during my appointment as I could not find anyone to help me out. But, as my luck had it, I saw some people I knew playing with their kids in the street (it is at the end of a dead end street) and I agreed to let them watch her for my 15 minute visit.

Alanna was in her glory. She ran off with the older kids, not even looking back at me. Sidewalk chalk and drawing beckoned to her, and the older kids had her mesmerized. Suddenly I was back in the early 60's in Long Island, where everyone played in the street. We rode bikes, flew kites, tugged on sleighs. We saw and heard the cars coming two blocks away and had plenty of time to get out of the way.

When my appointment was over, Alanna was quite vexed that we had to go. She did her share of crying, then once in the care wiped the bottom of her sneakers with her hands, and then proceeded to lick each and every finger. I shook my head, and just remembered my own childhood and what I wished it had been, and thought, "sheesh, kids" and smiled the drive home.